Raids were allowed originally by federal Judge Murray Wilcox, who issued so-called Anton Pillar order that allows copyright holders to raid companies if they suspect that the company is violating their copyrights and there's a threat that evidence related to these actions will be destroyed shortly.
Sharman Networks claimed in the court that MIPI, the recording industry organization who made the raid, withheld facts from the judge when they applied for Anton Pillar order. Despite ruling that the evidence is legal, court did state that MIPI and Sharman should work out a mutually agreeable way for MIPI to access the evidence found in raids.
In addition to the ruling about raid's legality, court also ruled against Sharman's request to postpone its court case in Australia until the similar case has finished in the United States against it. Court case in Australia continues on 23rd of March.
Source: TechNewsWorld
Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 4 Mar 2004 11:48