AfterDawn: News

Kazaa trial begins

The controversial Kazaa trial has kicked off in Sydney, Australia today with major recording labels claiming it was the worlds biggest music piracy network, and that Sharman knew about this and encouraged music piracy. Lawyers for Universal, Sony BMG, EMI, Warner and dozens of other labels made this claim. These allegations follow investigations by the Australian anti-piracy organization Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), a body affiliated with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), the Australian equivalent of the RIAA. The trial is expected to last at least three weeks.

It all started several months back when Sharman's HQ was raided by the Recording Industry. Sharman challenged the legality of the raids but it didn't make any difference. In the United States, it has been ruled that creators of P2P software cannot be held liable for the actions of their users. Sharman will be praying for a similar outcome of this trial. Not only does the recording industry want all illegal trading forcefully stopped on the network, they also seek compensation for lost revenue due to illegal filesharing on the network, which would add up to billions.



"Sharman paints themselves as the defenders of the interests of fans of music [but] they are trading off the copyright-infringing activities of its users. Far from inhibiting infringements, they are actually encouraging them." said Tony Bannon, counsel for the labels. The start of the battle between the labels and Sharman will be an attempt to determine whether Sharman can be held liable for Kazaa user’s activity or not. If they are found liable, then the labels will seek compensation.

Source:
The Register

Written by: James Delahunty @ 29 Nov 2004 4:17

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• 8 comments

• SGSeries2

  I find it ironic that they just released a new version of kazaa with skype included in it, and the trial just kicked off shortly afterward. There's no real connection, other than a hint that kazaa developers are optimistic.

  29.11.2004 07:15 #1

• djscoop

  As much as I support file-sharing, I think this is some karma for Kazaa for embedding spyware and adware in their software...thats just not cool.

  29.11.2004 10:15 #2

• rico134

  er........yeah dont take this the wrong way file sharing ppl but my friends got kazaa and i think its literally pathetic,i hope they do end up getting a huge fine in the end.they deserve it for half the rubbish & viruses they've got on theie program anyway jeesh!

  29.11.2004 10:24 #3

• Dela

  You guys are missing the point. The labels arent just hoping to shut kazaa down, they are looking to make an example out of it to other countries, like the pebble that fell and sharted the landslide. If they suceed and the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear their P2P case, they could use the Australian trial as an example and have an effect on the overall ruling. What could happen then is the Supreme court could rule that people who own/run P2P networks are liable for damages. Imagine the lawsuits. Bram Cohen would definately get hit because of BitTorrent's popularity among P2P users. You must understand that this is a completely different case than "Recording Industry vs. Kazaa". If Kazaa win (which I think they will) then other countries legal systems would be influenced by the decision and uphold the same rulings, if the Recording Industry won...... well you can imagine.

  29.11.2004 14:10 #4

• Soulreave

  /me smells entrapment

  1.12.2004 04:25 #5

• Musky179

  Personally,I hope Kazaa wins their case.Although it causes me some grief with my pc now and then.The P2P networks are the only means I have to hear artists from around the world.I buy many cds and dvds once I know what I am buying.Afterall,how can one buy cds of artists that one has never heard of before.
  Apple,iTunes and Napster don't even offer the music I am looking for.
  Muskie.

  7.12.2004 12:41 #6

• FuckBush

  Didn't the term "Bling Bling" get 'coined' by the music industry? And here we are with a bunch of rich fucks trying to kill P2P so that more already rich pockets can be lined. These dicks tell us that things like Kazaa (etc) hurt the industry for reasons such as less local bands are unearthing. BULLSHIT! Extremly rich artists and labels miss out on what is relatively chump change and P2P helps spread the music of lesser known artists that the music industry can exploit later on. My opinion anyway. P.S. Just because I downloaded an mp3 for the PC doesn't mean I would have bought the CD if the internet didn't exist.

  7.12.2004 14:29 #7

• djscoop

  love your nick

  7.12.2004 16:05 #8