A long-running court battle between Australia's record industry and file-swapping giant Kazaa reaches a climax today, when a judge is to rule on whether the peer-to-peer network is no different from a photocopier or is a giant "engine of copyright piracy."
Lawyers for major Australian record labels want Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox to find Kazaa's owners liable for copyright breaches and loss of income.
"We have argued file sharing on Kazaa is a breach of copyright and unfair to all those people who try to make a living by creating and producing music," said Michael Speck, managing director of Australia's Music Industry Piracy Investigations, a division of the Australian Recording Industry Association.
"This is a long-awaited judgment on an issue that's critical to the music industry, artists and consumers worldwide," he said.
Among the 10 defendants are Kazaa's owners, Sharman Networks Ltd, Sharman License Holdings and Sharman's Sydney-based chief executive officer, Nikki Hemming.
Their lawyers argued that the software used by Kazaa is no different from a tape recorder or photocopier -- and that Kazaa could not control copyright infringement by users of the network.
The case is the latest in a long line of courtroom showdowns between so-called peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and copyright holders lsuch as record companies.
In a landmark case earlier this year, the US Supreme Court said Grokster and Streamcast Networks -- developers of leading Internet file-sharing software -- can be sued because they deliberately encouraged customers to download copyrighted files illegally so the companies could build a larger audience and sell more advertising.
If the record industry wins today and Kazaa's owners are declared liable, it could signal the end of Kazaa. Defendants, including Hemming, already have agreed to freeze their assets ahead of the verdict.
If the defendants are ruled liable, Wilcox will hold a fresh round of hearings to determine the level of damages, which could run into the millions of dollars. Whichever side loses today is expected to appeal.
But whatever the outcome, observers say users of P2P services around the world already are leaving Kazaa for services which allow quicker downloads.
Michael Geist, an e-commerce expert at Ottawa University's law faculty, said the file sharing industry has moved on since the Kazaa trial began last November, with the software underpinning Kazaa now holding only 10 percent of the market, although the Kazaa Web site claims that nearly 390 million people have downloaded its software.
``It just isn't as big a player as it once was as BitTorrent and eDonkey are now far more important to file sharers,'' Geist said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS