AUSTRALIAN KAZAA CASE

Here’s one to watch out for. The Register reports on the latest stage of the Australian case brought by Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) against Sharman Industries, the parent company of Kazaa. Sharman is claiming that certain evidence obtained by the MIPI from Sharman’s premises by means of an Anton Piller order should be declared inadmissible. It’s arguing that the raids breached the Australian Telecommunications Act. It claims that MIPI took "communications" from Sharman's routers before they were relayed to the company's computers, contrary to the Act’s prohibition on the interception of a "communication" passing through a telecoms system. However, Judge Wilcox wasn’t impressed by this argument and fixed 29 November 2004 as the trial date, though the parties will be going back to court on 16 July to report on whether they have sorted out their disagreements over access to the seized materials. Sharman is said to be anxious to delay the trial as it is hoping for an outcome in favour of Kazaa, which will separate the liability of file-sharing software providers from individual users in the US appeal against the recent Californian Kazaa decision.


The IPKat looks forward to brining you coverage of the trial when it starts properly.

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