L.A. Court to Decide on Copyright Suit


Aztechya used our newssubmit to tell us that Judge Steven Wilson in California, USA is deciding whether record companies and movie studios can sue Austrailian Sharman Networks for offering products like Kazaa and Fileshare in the USA. He said that it is a very compelling arguement that since the filesharing programs are offered freely in California, to so many people, that there may be a legal basis to hold Sharman Networks liable for copyright infringement.

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.

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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."



I guess the American judge feels that the US has jurasdiction worldwide, regardless of how other countries feel about how to view copyright laws. The lawyer representing the songwriters and music publishers, Carey Ramos, is quoted as saying "This is important because it shows that you cannot escape U.S. justice by setting up shop outside the United States".
You can read more about this by clicking here, or you can discuss the topic of the legal issues in our CDFreaks Living Room.

Source: Yahoo News

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