Risk & Safety

An Australian federal court decided that the company that runs the Kazaa P2P Web site encouraged its users to infringe copyright, the BBC reports. The court ordered Kazaa's owners, Sharman Networks, to modify the software within two months to stop the sharing of copyrighted material. "A fresh round of hearings will now be held to determine the level of damages, which could run into the millions of … [Read more...] about Kazaa ordered to stop piracy

Like many parents of file-sharers, I suspect, this one didn't even know what Kazaa was until she was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). But there are a couple of unusual things about the case of Patricia Santangelo, single mother of five between the ages of 6 and 19: 1) She says the name on the lawsuit is a friend of her children's (using Kazaa at her house), and 2) … [Read more...] about N.Y. mom to fight RIAA

Even a law criminalizing file-sharing - Sweden's new one - isn't likely to put a serious dent in it. The Associated Press reports that "Swedes are among the most prolific file-sharers in the world. Industry groups estimate that about 10% of Sweden's 9 million residents freely swap music, games and movies on their computers." So, the AP continues, "unless Swedes have suddenly changed their habits, … [Read more...] about P2P and media firms’ eyes on Sweden

The crackdown was probably not targeting any "amateur" file-sharers using family PCs. "Operation Site Down," conducted in 11 countries, was after high-level traffickers in first-run movies, video games, and other copyrighted materials, CNET reports. According to the BBC, the search and seizure operation, led by the FBI, "netted copyrighted material worth $50m and led to seven arrests," four in the … [Read more...] about International crackdown on ‘pirates’

Today the US Supreme Court sent a strong message to the file-sharing services: that they are responsible for their users' infringement of copyright law. The unanimous decision "stands to reshape an Internet landscape in which file-swapping has become commonplace," CNET reports. The decision "won't immediately shut down access to the trading networks, however." The Supreme Court sent the case back … [Read more...] about P2P services can be sued too: Supreme Court