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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 |