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Aussie Court: Kazaa Guilty of Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 6, 2005 - 6:27am.
Sydney -- An Australian federal court has ruled that Sharman Networks, distributor of the Kazaa file-sharing application, is guilty of copyright infringement and must filter out copyrighted songs traded on its peer-to-peer network within two months. Federal Court Justice Murray Wilcox said in his ruling that it was in the financial interest of Sharman "to maximize, not minimize, music file-sharing," and ordered Australia-based Sharman, U.S.-based partner Altnet and several other defendants to pay 90% of the music industry's court costs. A separate hearing will be held to determine copyright infringement damages against Sharman and its partners. "On the heels of the unanimous Grokster ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, this decision reflects a growing, international chorus: those who promote theft can be held accountable no matter how they may attempt to escape responsibility. A corrupt business strategy of attempting to hide 'off-shore' is not off-limits to the enforcement of rights by creators or law enforcement," said RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol. Sharman plans to appeal the ruling. "While the judgment has yet to be studied in detail, Sharman Networks is obviously disappointed with the decision. However, we will appeal this decision vigorously and are confident that we will win on appeal," the company said in a statement.
tags: Law | Copyright Infringement | Kazaa | Aussie Court | Guilty |

Aussie Court Convicts MP3 Site Operator, ISP of Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2005 - 10:02am.
Sydney -- An Australian federal court has convicted both an operator of a site that linked to free MP3 files and his ISP of copyright infringement, ZDNet reported. The major record labels sued MP3s4free.net operator Stephen Cooper, his ISP Comcen, and other parties in October 2003 for operating the site, and for collaborating with one another to improve the site's traffic and increase ad revenue. Australian Federal Court Justice Brian Tamberlin on Thursday ruled against Cooper; Comcen; a Comcen employee; Comcen's parent company, E-Talk Communications; and a director of both companies. "This is a very significant blow in the war against piracy," said Michael Kern, general manager of the Australian trade group Music Industry Piracy Investigations. "The court has found against all the respondents. It sends the message that ISPs who involve themselves in copyright infringement can be found guilty…The verdict showed that employees of ISPs who engage in piracy can be seen in the eyes of the court as guilty."
tags: Law | ISP | Copyright Infringement | Aussie Court | MP3 Site Operator |