kazaa is next to follow napster :(

[renovation]

L.A. Court to Decide on Copyright Suit


http://apnews.excite.com/article/200211 ... E11O0.html

Nov 25, 9:46 PM (ET)

By SANDRA MARQUEZ

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge considering an Internet copyright case said Monday he was inclined to allow U.S. record companies and movie studios to sue the Australia-based parent company of Kazaa, a popular online file-swapping service.

Judge Stephen Wilson heard arguments on whether Sharman Networks, which is headquartered in Australia and incorporated in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, is subject to U.S. copyright laws.

"It is a difficult question, but it has to be resolved," Wilson said. "The court will do its best to resolve it promptly."

Although Wilson did not indicate when he plans to issue a ruling, he appeared to tip his hand, noting that he "would be inclined to find there's jurisdiction against Sharman."


"I find the argument about providing the service to so many California residents compelling," Wilson said, referring to the plaintiffs' claims that Kazaa provides free access to copyrighted music and films to some 21 million users in the United States.

The case is one of the largest in the recent copyright wars testing the international reach of U.S. courts. If the judge decides Sharman can be sued, the company would be thrust into the same legal predicament that have stymied popular online music services such as Napster and Aimster.

David Casselman, an attorney representing Sharman, said holding the online swapping company liable for copyright violations would be akin to prosecuting a computer manufacturer for the actions of computer hackers.

David Kendall, an attorney representing six movie studios, including Disney, Fox and Paramount, said the fact that Sharman's product is available in this country is sufficient cause to face trial in a U.S. court.

"It does not violate due process to have them stand here to answer for their conduct," Kendall said.

Sharman attorney Rod Dorman countered that such a move could open a door for a judge in "communist China" to rule against U.S. companies that operate online. The judge did not appeared swayed by the argument.

"I'll take my chances with that judge in communist China," Wilson quipped.

Carey Ramos, an attorney representing song writers and music publishers, said the judge's comments would send a message to those companies seeking to operate offshore.

"This is important because it shows that you cannot escape U.S. justice by setting up shop outside the United States," Ramos said.

[Hipnotic_Tranz]

It was only a matter of time, I suppose. I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner, to tell the truth. I have gotten over 50gig of stuff from KaZaA....What I wonder is what do they hope to accomplish? As soon as KaZaA gets shut down, a clone will pop up. There are always going to be some way to share illegal information in one way or the other.

If they were to make a program that is open source, would it be possible at all to file a law-suit? In theory I would say no since anybody could "annonymously" make the program, even if the bulk of the program were made from a particulr person... ...as long as they remained annonymous there would be nobody to go after. Heck, take it one step further--why doesn't KaZaA say "yes, we'll shut down" but then release the code and keep the program open source. That would not only keep the maker free of being sued, but also continue the KaZaA tradition

[blade_146]

that sucks. i've only been using kazza for about 2 weeks and i dl'd a ton of stuff. it was fun while it lasted...

[TheSovereign]

what the heck are you talking about

this could take a decade
and even then how are they gonna stop the 1000 clones that pop-up in its place

its too late for the music industry they have lost

[eGoCeNTRoNiX]

WTF? Do they really think that suing companies that provide a platform for such sharing is the answer to the problem? Did they sue CUTEFtp when it first came out? I mean damn.. So what.. They shut down Kazaa, here come the clones, or better yet..

Guy : Hey man, do you have that new CD by joe blow?
Man : Yeah Guy, I got it..
Guy : Would you rip this song and that song and email it to me? or Yahoo, or AIM, or ICQ...

Blah Blah Blah the list goes on!! It's completely stupid to fight it. No matter what there will always be file sharing and in todays age of broadband it's nothing for one person to get 100 songs in a day if not more! Like the Sov. said.. It's just tooooooo LATE!

[Busby]

3 Letters:

IRC

[Pugsley]

I got notin'! actually how the hell is the US courts gonna even touch this other company? like they said "what to keep commy china courts form going after us based companys?" its the same thing!!!

Just like in court. I was there for my "No Muffeler" thing. some guy is up for window tint and he cites the police for having tint and all the judge type people are like "what tint.... i never seen a police car with tint" the the whole court room starting talking about it and yelled at the judge that they do and he had to call order. This court is in the same building as the police station. and i went out back after court to look at the cars... and yep, they had tint... Exactly the same way this guy had on his car!!!! Government is a joke!!! they allways contridict them selves.

[PreDatoR]

3 letters FXP IRC is a PITA