AfterDawn: News

Music industry raids Kazaa offices

The anti-piracy subsdiary of Australian Recording Industry Association, called Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), has raided several companies and universities in Australia, trying to find documents that would prove that they have violated Australia's copyright laws.

Raid were launched after Australian court granted MIPI a search warrant, so-called Anton Pillar order, that allows copyright owners to search premises to find evidence of alleged copyright violations. Raid targeted Sharman Networks (the owner of Kazaa), Telstra (Australia's largest ISP) and several major universities.



MIPI plans to use any documents seized in raids in its court proceedings against the companies it has found violating Australian copyright laws. Regarding to the raid to Sharman's offices MIPI's chief, Michael Speck said "Kazaa has built a large international business through encouraging and authorising the illegal copying of music users of its network. It authorises this copying without seeking the licence or permission of the owners and creators of the music, nor does it pay any royalties to either the owners or creators of the music."

More information:

Australian IT
The Register

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 6 Feb 2004 5:28

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• 13 comments

• GrayArea

  Think they found the Weapons of Mass Destruction(TM Bush-Cheney, LLC) that Sharman networks has been stockpiling to blow up child day care centers? This is ridiculous. It is truly sad to me how totally screwed up the priorities and values of our governments, law enforcement, and big business are.

  6.2.2004 09:29 #1

• Nephilim

  Corporate police are a very, very bad thing.

  6.2.2004 10:17 #2

• GrayArea

  People use P2P software to obtain copies of copyright works. I'm not going to mince words. Sharman Networks software does allow a user to do this. To state that Sharman Networks "authorizes" illegal copying of music is a bald face lie.

  6.2.2004 11:32 #3

• nermal

  So whats next then? Maybe some other anti-piracy group is combing through dvd rental accounts at VideoEzy and Blockbuster checking to see who's rented an above average number of movies lately?? Someone could be working on a search warrant for your house just to see if you've made copies of them! Where does it end?? Just a thought...

  7.2.2004 00:17 #4

• jonss

  There have been a number of news reports about this on our local TV in Australia. They'll find nothing of course but the implications are disturbing. I guess we forgot the 'Golden Rule'. Those who have the gold, make the rules.

  7.2.2004 04:32 #5

• pbailey

  The implications are definately disturbing, and i'm sure they'll be far reaching for us oz users...
  
  And So It Began...
  
  Bailey

  7.2.2004 12:33 #6

• ascheri

  I've read something in history that was simular to the MIPI in the forties they called them Nazi.

  7.2.2004 14:24 #7

• loboy2001

  bullshit its all bullshit america you say home of the free, greatest country in the world , im emberrassed by the way the music industry and goverment is accting on this subject, nobody was bitching when you used to copy a cassett tape or maybe a vhs but know you can put it on a cd or dvd and make it look and sound just as good and they cry, jonnss you said it best "those who have the gold make the rules"! I hope it all backfires on them at the end.

  8.2.2004 17:34 #8

• Rodgers

  I thought the Gestapo was out of business!
  Best to All!
  Rodgers

  9.2.2004 07:26 #9

• GrayArea

  loboy2001, quote> "nobody was bitching when you used to copy a cassett tape or maybe a vhs"
  Actually at the risk of dating myself, I can tell you, the music and movie industries were bitching LOUDLY about cassettes and home video recorders (it was the Sony Beta format that came out first and was the subject of a HUGE lawsuit). The movie moguls at the time had a PR campaign going that basically said VCRs were a gun to the head of hollywood and if they were allowed the movie industry would surely go out of buisness. Heard it all before. The big problem as I see it is, this time it's not just one technology that is affected, the actions of the copyright "owners" are threatening everyone's privacy, the ability and freedom for people to inovate and invent new uses for the web and consumer electronics (to name a few), and some basic personal freedoms. I'll say it for the umteenth time. THEY WANT TO OWN/CONTROL THE WORLD, and if they are allowed to keep operating in the manner they have so far, THEY WILL. They've already put on the jack boots...

  9.2.2004 12:32 #10

• vudoo

  slap slap slap these RIAA and MPAA wanna be's will finally learn that the only solution is to join the p2p community and start a file sharing service where the ads actually help to compensate the artists. Until then we will just keep file sharing and the industry will cry like babies and try to start more and more lawsuits and clog the justice system while rapers and child molesters like Michael Jackson room the streets for FREE while the RIAA supports them.
  
  Voodoohippie

  10.2.2004 11:49 #11

• taranga

  Quote:and child molesters like Michael JacksonInnocent until proven guilty.

  5.3.2004 00:38 #12

• searcher1

  GrayArea,I was also around in the early days and I remember the same things as you. I can't improve on your comments so I won't even try! In fact, All the comments I have read are Unfroutnately All Too Real.
  I remember when I was a boy and there were only four channels too choose from in the early days of Television, The World was Just coming out of World War II, and 75% of the movies on TV Were about how America And the allies Triumphed over NAZI Domination.
  [Propaganda For The Masses] In NAZI Germany, everyone needed Papers to travel form town to town, to board a train, And even too walk the streets in order too buy food!
  Are we Headed In The same Direction With The,WWW.com
  (A.K.A.) The WORLD WIDE WEB? How soon will it be before we all need a Licence (Papers) too access the Internet? A certain amount of control is expected, even good up too a point. But when it comes too our Freedom as as members of a free society, The line that the MOVIE And MUSIC Industry Is Not Supposed too cross is Behind Them! Freedom is what people have been fighting and dying for since Before recorded History. There are Two things I know too be certain and will NEVER change.
  (ONE) POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.
  (TWO) THOSE WHO FORGET THE PAST ARE DOOMED TOO REPEAT IT!

  5.7.2004 15:59 #13