Slashdot Mirror
Judge Rules that Kazaa can be Sued
scubacuda writes "According to this News.com article, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson said a lawsuit against Sharman Networks (the makers of Kazaa) could proceed, since Kazaa software had been downloaded and used by millions of Californians. (The Australia-/Vanuatu-based company had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing it was not bound by U.S. laws since it did not have substantial contacts with California.)"
If kazaa network went down, kazaa lite would be as useless as the gnutella network.
This is hardly a surprise, and not simply limited to 1) the US or 2) Internet issues. If any business has significant contacts with a state, that business may be sued in that state. Of course, it might be difficult to get at the assets of that business located in another country, but that's a different issue.
Italy and Australia have both issued recent high profile opinions that allow US businesses on the Internet to be sued in their respective countries. This is hardly a new thing.
Unless of course you're a slashdotter who doesn't know a damn thing about the law.
Kazza and all the P2P places should move to Sealand http://www.sealandgov.com/
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Actually, more like:
Judge issues injuction against Kazaa
Injunction issued against Kazaa
Judge declares Kazaa violated the law
Kazaa guilty
Kazaa out of business
Kazaa filing for bankruptcy
Company X buying Kazaa's assests
Company X steps forward, buys Kazaa's assets
Ask Slashdot: Whatever happened to Company X?
Ask Slashdot: Where did Company X go?