Kazaa fights back: sues record industry

Mirlyn

Mirlyn

Well-Known Member
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.
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Source: CNN via /.


This'll be interesting :lurk:
 
I knew it. Software copyright infringement. And Microsoft is gonna be their first witness on the stand. Within 5 years, Kazaa is part and parcel of Windows 2008.
 
Mirlyn said:
Source: CNN via /.


This'll be interesting :lurk:
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A software piracy case filed against a company who is suing 12 year olds for piracy?

Lets see.

If the RIAA wins the case then they would have to immediately cease the prosecution of software pirates right? (Im rationalizing that in order to win they will have to argue acceptable use of unliscensed software..which could then be used against them in court).

And if they loose the case, they will have to stop their current monitoring activities to identify pirates...
 
outside looking in said:
Standard Kazaa is free for download off of their site. Out of curiosity, what makes it "authorized" or "unauthorized?"
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Obviously its not whether somthing has to be paid for in order to be downloaded....if that were the standard...the RIAA wouldnt have a leg to stand on!
 
I'm wondering if the modified it somehow, that could be against the License agreement, even if the product is free.
 
I think that's it. If they modified the software in order to monitor and/or track downloaders, then they would be in breech of the software license agreement.

I can't wait to see what comes of this.

Let's just hope Sharman Networks can prove the RIAA is using modified software, then we'll have an interesting battle.
 
I think what they're saying is since they used Kazaa Lite, they were technically not using genuine Kazaa software, and thus in violation of the agreement to use the network. Kazaa Lite is (as I understand it) a version of the original software reverse-engineered by others to remove spyware and advertisements. It is not endorsed as legitimate Kazaa software (*cough*even though it *ahem* might work better than the real thing ;) ). It looks like Kazaa's basically saying "if you didn't get it from us, you're unauthorized to use our networks for any purpose."
 
AnomalousEntity said:
Obviously its not whether somthing has to be paid for in order to be downloaded....if that were the standard...the RIAA wouldnt have a leg to stand on!
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Well that doesn't make any sense. Kazaa standard version is available free from Kazaa on Kazaa's website. Now, if Metallica posted mp3's available on Metallica's website free for download directly from them, you might have some kind of analogy. Just because songs are available "somewhere" free for download doesn't make that the same as the rightful owner making it free for download.

If you can't see that difference, there's no hope for you ever seeing music piracy as wrong.


I'd like to know what it is that makes their version/use of Kazaa "unauthorized," whether that is from using Kazaa lite, modifying the software, or something else. I agree, this is certainly going to be an interesting legal case, assuming Kazaa has a legitimate claim. It won't make any of the music piraters any less guilty of breaking the law, but it might make the evidence the RIAA has gathered thus far inadmissable in court.
 
outside looking in said:
I'd like to know what it is that makes their version/use of Kazaa "unauthorized," whether that is from using Kazaa lite, modifying the software, or something else. I agree, this is certainly going to be an interesting legal case, assuming Kazaa has a legitimate claim. It won't make any of the music piraters any less guilty of breaking the law, but it might make the evidence the RIAA has gathered thus far inadmissable in court.
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Kazaa's EULA said:
3.2 Except as expressly permitted in this Licence, you agree not to reverse engineer, de-compile, disassemble, alter, duplicate, modify, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, make copies, create derivative works from, distribute or provide others with the Software in whole or part, transmit or communicate the application over a network.
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http://www.kazaa.com/us/terms.htm
 
Did the RIAA actually modify the Kazaa code, or just write a sniffer to track the IP of the packets coming into their computer? If it is the former, this will certainly be an interesting case. ;)
 
Close, but according to the suit, the RIAA allegedly used Kazaa Lite to hunt down users, then strong-armed the ISP into releasing details on th particular person/IP. This might mean they didn't really accept terms of the Kazaa EULA because they didn't use the original software which is released under the EULA. In other words, the RIAA could/might say "We never used your full version, and we never modified the code ourselves" (because it was already done by the makers of Lite). Thats what I understand anyway.

Had they used the original, full version of Kazaa....
2 What You Can't Do Under This Licence
You agree not to use the Software to:
...
2.11 Monitor traffic or make search requests in order to accumulate information about individual users;

2.12 "Stalk" or otherwise harass another;
...
2.14 Collect or store personal data about other users.
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I would think one could argue that the EULA is tied to the network as well, so the use of the network in any way could be considered acceptance of the EULA. If thats the case.....rock on. :D
 
Yep, a very interesting case. If the information about a user's IP is provided by the software, then it is questionable whether a license that prohibits you from simply recording that information is legal or enforcable. It might be... or it might not be.

It's almost like selling a soft drink that, on the can, says "by purchasing this soft drink, you agree not to drink it using your right hand." Or how about a pair of shorts that would otherwise be great swimwear, but on the label it says "by purchasing this garment you agree not to swim while wearing it."

Well... is there precedence for these type of restriction on a purchase? The RIAA apparently didn't break any copyright laws in their use of Kazaa, but instead it is a case of license dispute. If the RIAA didn't have to modify the software to get it to do what it already naturally does, can Kazaa put restrictions on using all the abilities of the software?

Can a MicroSoft EULA state something like "you may not use paintshop to edit pictures taken of living creatures?" Weird.

Even more interesting than I thought.
 
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