News.com reports that a Los Angeles federal judge, Stephen Wilson, has ruled that record companies and movie studios can proceed with a lawsuit against the parent company of KaZaA in the U.S. since it had been downloaded and used by millions of Californians:
Sharman Networks is headquartered in Australia and incorporated in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. The 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. |
"Given that Sharman's (Kazaa) software has been downloaded more than 143 million times, it would be mere cavil to deny that Sharman engages in a significant amount of contact with California residents," Wilson wrote. Also, he said, "many, if not most, music and video copyrights are owned by California-based companies."
The Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America applauded the decision in a joint statement.
So we can probably expect an official lawsuit against Sharman Networks by the RIAA.. Read the complete article here.
Source: News.com
