According to this News.com article, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson said a lawsuit against Sharman Networks (the makers of Kazaa) could proceed, since Kazaa software had been downloaded and used by millions of Californians. (The Australia-/Vanuatu-based company had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing it was not bound by U.S. laws since it did not have substantial contacts with California.)
The Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America applauded the decision in a joint statement.
“We are pleased that the court denied the efforts of Sharman Networks…to avoid being subject to the suit. Sharman Networks…should be held accountable by U.S. laws, which clearly indicate that what they are doing is illegal, and that they should not profit from it,” the trade associations said.
This week’s ruling came after Wilson heard oral arguments in Nov. 2002, and could mean that the Kazaa lawsuit will be rolled into a larger one involving Streamcast Networks and Grokster, two rival file-swapping companies that use the same underlying technology as Sharman.
Wilson said the case was different from a similar one involving a Texas man who was sued in California for distributing a DVD-descrambling utility online. The California Supreme Court said in November 2002 that Internet distribution of software did not subject someone to California jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court briefly put that decision on hold, then backed out of the case this month.
Related Posts
- Kazaa Decision Delayed
- L.A. judge OKs lawsuit against KaZaA parent, Sharman
- Judge Likely to Allow Sharman To be Sued in the States
- Microsoft employee sues Kazaa
- KaZaA sues the RIAA
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