KaZaA BV, the Netherlands-based company, originally created the
popular file-swapping software. The company was sued last October
by the RIAA and the MPAA for copyright infringement. The same
lawsuit included the other two major file-swapping companies,
StreamCast (owner of Morpheus), and Grokster.
However, in February this year, KaZaA sold the software to
Sharman, a company based on a small Pacific island. The RIAA and
the MPAA, which act on behalf of record labels and Hollywood film
studios, asked a court for permission to add Sharman to the lawsuit
in June. On Monday, a federal Judge gave them permission to take
action against the company.
Sharman, StreamCast and Grokster deny any legal liability
because they do not maintain central servers but simply distribute
peer-to-peer software.
A spokesman for Sharman said:
“Sharman’s fundamental belief is that the
distribution of the KaZaA Media Desktop is not only legal but also
one of the most important drivers of the future of peer-to-peer
technology. We are confident that our legal position will be
vindicated by the court.”
KaZaA.com claims that over 99 million copies of its software
have been downloaded to date.
