LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Turning the tables on record labels, makers of the
most popular Internet song-swapping network are suing entertainment companies
for copyright infringement.
Sharman Networks Ltd., the company behind the Kazaa file-sharing software,
filed a federal lawsuit Monday accusing the entertainment companies of using
unauthorized versions of its software in their efforts to root out users.
Entertainment companies have offered bogus versions of copyright works and
sent online messages to users.
Sharman said the companies used Kazaa Lite, an ad-less replica of its
software, to get onto the network. The lawsuit also claims efforts to combat
piracy on Kazaa violated terms for using the network.
Trying again
Sharman's lawsuit also revives its previous allegation that the
entertainment companies violated antitrust laws by stopping Sharman and its
partner from distributing authorized copies of music and movies through Kazaa.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson rejected those claims in July but
last week allowed Sharman to try again. Sharman is incorporated in the South
Pacific island nation of Vanuatu with main offices in Sydney, Australia.
Firing back
The Recording Industry Association of America called Sharman's "newfound
admiration for the importance of copyright law" ironic and "self-serving."
Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, a division of CNN's parent
company AOL Time Warner, declined to comment on Sharman's latest lawsuit.
Recording companies sued 261 music fans this month, claiming they were
illegally distributing hundreds of digital song files apiece over the
Internet. The industry trolled file-sharing networks such as Kazaa and
downloaded song files from users' computers.
Once the industry determined a downloaded song file was a copyright work,
they issued subpoenas to Internet access providers to find out who was behind
the account used to log onto the file-sharing network.
RIAA drops one lawsuit
Meanwhile, the recording industry group has dropped one of the 261
lawsuits, a case filed against a 66-year-old sculptor who apparently was
targeted in a case of mistaken identity.
Sarah Seabury Ward, of Newbury, Massachusetts, was accused of illegally
sharing more than 2,000 songs through Kazaa, including rapper Trick Daddy's
"I'm a Thug." The music companies threatened to hold her liable for up to
$150,000 for each song.
After Ward's lawyer complained that Ward is a "computer neophyte" who never
installed file-sharing software or downloaded any songs, the case was dropped
in federal court in Boston on Friday.
