A court in Sydney has ruled that the users of the Kazaa file-sharing software have breached copyright laws and has ordered the software be altered.

Aussie based Sharman Networks, who developed Kazaa, were sued by Australian record companies who alleged that they were responsible for millions of dollars of lost sales. The case hinged around whether the Kazaa network, by allowing file-sharing of copyright material, was authorising that piracy.

The court ruled on Monday that Kazaa was responsible for the actions of its users. "[Kazaa] authorised users to infringe the applicants' copyright in their sound recordings," Federal Court Judge Murray Wilcox said in his ruling.

This case has similarities to that recently heard in the US Supreme Court between Grokster and major record labels in which Grokster was deemed responsible for the actions of its users.

This spate of ruling against file-sharing networks will do little to prevent piracy as new networks are springing up to replace those affected or closed down by legal action. However, what it might do is stifle creativity. If the developer of a piece of software is to be held responsible for ALL the uses that it could be put to, many useful tools will never get off the drawing board.

¶ Monday, September 05, 2005