Kazaa Australian Offices Raided

[junkyardking]

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0...Enbv%5E,00.html

MIPI makes piracy sweep
Simon Hayes
FEBRUARY 06, 2004 

THE music industry has moved against file swapping service Kazaa, with lawyers fronting the company's Sydney headquarters armed with an Anton Pillar order.

Lawyers acting for Music Industry Piracy Investigations also used the orders to attempt searches of 12 other premises around the country, including universities, ISPs and a major telecommunications company.
Anton Pillar orders allow a copyright owner to enter and search premises and inspect documents.

Kazaa is an international network that allows users to trade electronic music files over the internet. Its operations are based in Australia.

The move dramatically ups the stakes in the industry's push against alleged piracy. The last big action was a Federal Court tussle late last year with major universities over access to network records investigators hoped could lead them to evidence of illegal copying.

Australia has led the world in action against pirates, with two Sydney university students given 18 month suspended jail terms in November last year for their part in a pirate music site that offered 1000 songs for download. It was believed to be the world's first successful criminal prosecution for music piracy.

But the music industry has suffered a number of high-profile defeats in recent months, with the most recent being a Dutch court ruling that upheld an earlier judgement that the original developers of Kazaa, two Dutch programmers, could not be held liable for copyright violations by users.

The decision followed a similar US court ruling on software developed by competitors Grokster and StreamCast Networks. That decision is subject to an appeal this month.

Sharman is also fighting its own battle in the US courts, with action by the music industry pending in the District Court in Los Angeles. It has responded to the claims with a countersuit, alleging anti-competitive behaviour by the record companies.

Comment is being sought from a Sharman Networks spokesperson.

[Java Boy]

Good job...hahahaha

[4play]

here as well.

i wonder how stupid this is gonna make them look when they realise they dont store any illegal files at sharman.

hopefully this will turn nasty for the mipi and they get their asses sued for blantantly false claims that have been rejected in many courts of law already.

[Synific]

just heard over aussie radio

[serpico]

Hope this doesn't affect k-lite

[internet.news]

Originally posted by Java Boy@6 February 2004 - 08:26
Good job...hahahaha

I think if you say Kazaa office, it is a office of Sharman.

I don't really knkow what to think about it.

No, this doesn't effect K-Lite Users as my headquarters is still there, hehe...

[Mystikan]

hopefully this will turn nasty for the mipi and they get their asses sued for blantantly false claims that have been rejected in many courts of law already.

...and so the revolution rages on...

[Alex H]

The Sydney Morning Herald said that CD sales were down 17% last year. Perhaps people are sarting to think:

"Well, pretty much everthing in the top 40 sucks, so if I REALLY have to play a Britney Spears CD at my next party to be cool, I'm sure as hell not going to pay $30 for it!"

Seriously, there is so much CRAP music being put out you can hardly blame p2p networks if people don't want to buy it. Name one song in the top 10 where the "artist" hasn't been put there by record executives because they're good looking.

The groups and individuals are so manufactured they don't even try to disgise it - look at the Idol program on TV - "We manufacture singers so well, we're going to show you how we do it!"