Judge: "Kazaa Can Be Sued In U.S." Sharman: "We'll See about That."
 

Judge: Kazaa Can Be Sued In U.S.
Roy Mark

After studying the facts of the case for more than a month, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson has
ruled music and movie picture companies can sue the off-shore file-swapping site Kazaa, which argued it was exempt from U.S. jurisdiction because it is based in Australia and incorporated on the island of Vanuatu.

The ruling is major victory for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which have been seeking to include Kazaa, which is owned by Sharman Networks, Ltd., in a massive copyright infringement suit brought against a number of file swapping companies, including Tennessee's MusicCity.com, Inc. and MusicCity Networks, Inc. (which runs the popular Morpheus service), and West Indies-based Grokster, LTD.

Wilson ruled that Kazaa does substantial business in the U.S and since it is alleged the company engages in copyright infringement, the company is subject to U.S. law.

The music and movie empires claim the file-swapping sites are costing the industries billions, and the entertainment industry has been unrelenting in its legal and legislative assault on what it considers to be largest heist in the history of intellectual property rights. The RIAA attorneys contend that Kazaa's peer-to-peer network is used by about 21 million users in the U.S. to share digital files.

In addition to its off-shore status, Sharman argued that Kazaa should not be held liable for copyright infringement, pointing out that PC makers aren't responsible for the actions of destructive hackers.
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/1568591

Sharman Networks to fight Californian judgement
Jeanne-Vida Douglas

Sydney-based Sharman Networks, which owns the popular Kazaa peer-to-peer software, has announced it intends to launch a counterclaim following the US District Judge Stephen Wilson's decision to allow a US lawsuit against the company to proceed.

The company decided to go ahead with the counterclaim after reviewing Judge Wilson's "thoughtful" 46-page decision handed down on Friday last week.

"While Sharman is disappointed with the court's conclusion that the Constitution permits this case to be heard in the United States, we fully expect to prevail on the merits," the statement said. "Sharman's upcoming counterclaim will set forth the full story for the first time."

The company is declining to reveal any further details at this stage.

Friday's judgement ruled that record companies and movie studios are able to proceed with a lawsuit against the parent company of Kazaa--the most popular online file-swapping service--in the United States.

The decision was taken on the basis that Kazaa software had been downloaded and used by millions of Californians, thus enabling the US-based lawsuit to proceed.

Although based in Sydney, Sharman Networks is incorporated in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and had previously filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing it was not bound by US laws since it did not have substantial contacts with California.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/ebu...0271194,00.htm

- js.

ARGH! :m: :m::m:

so, riddle me this, all you monday morning legal eagles:

what could a US court actually do to Sharman Networks, in the event they lose the case(which they probably will)? I presume all their assets are in Vanatu...no doubt the principles in the company reside outside the US...I'm sure they are not dumb enough to have any money in US banks...so how would they sanction Sharman?:hmm:

of course, they could apply the Iraq model: press for UN sanctions against Vanatu...pillory them in the court of world opinion...send inspectors into Vanatu to search for illegal Sharman servers...go through the motions of forming an international coalition...and then finally invade Vanatu on behalf of the entertainment industry, bringing about a regime change....:spin:

or what?:RE:

Interesting... let's see what kind of drama unfolds from this...

Thanks for the story, Jack. :tu:

- tg :WA:

anytime sistuh.

anytime at all.

help me jeebus!

- js.

One might be given cause to wonder by how many fold will the RIAA need to multiply its sales to cover the legal costs that its witch hunt is incurring? Maybe we'll live to see the day the legal eagles will be suing the RIAA for multiple gazillions of dollars in unpaid fees. Wouldn't that be something!:f: