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Internet file sharer sues record industry
2003-09-26
Sharman Networks, the company behind the Kazaa file-sharing software, has turned the tables on the record industry by launching legal action for copyright infringement.
Sharman filed a US federal lawsuit accusing record labels of using unauthorised versions of its software in attempts to detect users.
The company claims that the entertainment companies used Kazaa Lite, an ad-less replica of its software, to get onto the network and says that efforts to combat music piracy are against the terms for using the network.
Recording companies sued 261 music fans this month, claiming they were illegally distributing hundreds of digital song files over the internet and last year, record labels and movie studios filed a copyright infringement suit against Sharman
US District Judge Stephen V Wilson initially rejected Kazaa's claims in July, but allowed the Sharman, headquartered on the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, to try again.
'Sharman Networks' newfound admiration for the importance of copyright law is ironic, to say the least,' a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said.
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