- Recommend:
- 0 Comments
Peer-to-Peer Lawsuit Faces Legal Hurdle
Judge must decide whether entertainment companies have the right to sue Kazaa, which operates outside the U.S.
In a case that tests global jurisdiction issues, a U.S. federal judge is set to consider Monday whether entertainment companies can sue in U.S. courts the off-shore distributor of the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing software.
The company behind the popular P-to-P software, Sharman Networks, is incorporated in the island nation of Vanuatu, operates out of Australia, and distributes the software from servers located outside of the U.S.
Los Angeles District Court Judge Stephen Wilson is slated to decide if the entertainment companies may sue Sharman Networks for allowing the illegal trading of their copyrighted works over the company's P-to-P network in U.S. courts.
Sharman Networks is arguing that it has no substantial contacts in the U.S. and therefore the companies lack jurisdiction to take it to court here.
Ongoing Dispute
The hearing is part of a larger case brought by a handful of movie and music companies against P-to-P networks Kazaa, Morpheus, and Grokster. The entertainment companies are seeking a summary judgment against the defendants, claiming that they knowingly allow copyright-protected works to be traded on their networks, dubbing them "candy stores of infringement."
A hearing to consider the summary judgment is scheduled for December 2.
The entertainment powerhouses have already succeeded in a similar bid against P-to-P renegade Napster, which was knocked offline last year. However, unlike Napster, the new generation of P-to-P networks argue that they have no central servers and therefore cannot be shutdown.
Meanwhile, the judge's consideration of whether Kazaa can be sued in the U.S. could help set a precedent concerning global jurisdictional issues.
The hearing is slated for 1:30 p.m. PST Monday at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
Would you recommend this story? YES NO
- Recommend:
- 0 Comments
-
ThinkPad Edge E420 Lenovo Style in an Affordable Package
Buy now direct from Lenovo -
ThinkPad X220 Fast and light, with great input ergonomics and battery life, this powerhouse ultraportable is best-of-breed.
Buy now direct from Lenovo -
ThinkPad X120e One of the best netbooks ever, X120e has the best netbook keyboard ever--nothing else comes close
Buy now direct from Lenovo
- NSA, AT&T Warrantless Wiretapping Case Set for Court
- 2011: The Year that Was, as Seen by Flickr
- Tech.gov: File Sharing and the Supreme Court
- Tech.gov: Supreme Court Standards for Peer-to-Peer and Beyond
- Blockbuster Plans September Surprise for Netflix
- Sneaky Sharing
- EFF Defends $54,000 Award Against Music Sharer
- 12 Criteria for Selecting the Best ERP System Replacement An ERP system is your information backbone and reaches into all areas of your business and value chain. Replacing it can open unlimited business opportunities. This white paper explains the 12 criteria that allow you to identify and select the solution that will meet these expectations.
- Leveraging Social Computing Technologies for ERP Applications This white paper details how Web 2.0 technologies support business strategies by improving efficiency, productivity, and collaboration.
















