[DMCA-Activists] Raided: Kazaa Offices, Staff Homes and Universities

[Seth Johnson]

(Two emails from Pho list)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: pho: Hot News!!!! Kazaa offices, staff's homes and Universities
Raided
   Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 16:16:38 +1100
   From: Phil Tripp <address@hidden>
     To: address@hidden


This story is still evolving but this morning a series  of 12 premises in
three states in Australia were raided this morning including the  offices of
Kazaa in Sydney, supposedly the homes of Nikki Hemming and other staff of
Kazaa, and reportedly three universities as  well as two ISPs--gathering
evidence for a civil action to be launched in Federal Court next week.

Details are sketchy at the moment but the Music Industry Piracy
Investigations unit of ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) 
revealed little on the courthouse steps this morning as the raids were
taking place.

Article at http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1039588.htm



Music industry launches action over web downloads

The Australian music industry is launching legal action against the world's
largest file sharing network, alleging  mass copyright breach.

Kazaa is an Internet-based distributor of software that allows people to
swap music files online.

The Australian Record Industry Association's chief piracy investigator,
Michael Speck, says his representatives  raided 12 premises in three states
this morning gathering evidence for a civil action to be launched in the
Federal  Court next week.

"This is the largest copyright infringement case in Australia," he said.

"These people are the largest infringers of copyright in the world.

"Their operation is a global one, it's based almost entirely on illegal
traffic."





-------- Original Message --------
Subject: pho: MIPI Raids Sharman Networks, Brilliant Entertainment
   Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 16:20:31 +1100
   From: Phil Tripp <address@hidden>
     To: address@hidden


Confirming that raids occurred on homes of Hemming and Altnet CEO Kevin
Bermeister as well as offices

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/0,39023166,39116016,00.htm


MIPI raids Sharman Networks, Brilliant Digital Entertainment

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
06 February 2004


Music Industry Piracy Investigations this morning raided the offices of p2p
companies Sharman Networks  and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, along with
the homes of key executives.


MIPI obtained a court order yesterday to conduct the raids, and began this
morning raiding premises in multiple states across  Australia. In addition
to the offices of Sharman Networks and Brilliant Digital Entertainment
(BDE), MIPI raided the residences of  Sharman Networks' CEO Nikki Hemming,
Brilliant Digital Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and President Kevin
Burmeister and  Phil Morle, Director of Technology at Sharman Networks.

Sharman Networks became a target for the music industry when it purchased
the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing technology from its  Dutch creators
Kazaa BV in 2002. It has had a long relationship with BDE, and in 2002 had
to defend against a backlash when it was  revealed spyware had been included
with the Kazaa software. BDE subsidiary Altnet was later formed and offered
to pay people for  hosting content on the Kazaa network.

---

> http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/0,39023166,39116016,00.htm


MIPI raids Sharman Networks, Brilliant Digital Entertainment


By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
06 February 2004


UPDATE:Music Industry Piracy Investigations this morning raided the offices
of P2P companies Sharman Networks and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, along
with the homes of key executives and several ISPs. 


MIPI obtained an Anton Pilar order – which allows a copyright holder to
enter a premises to search for and seize material that breaches copyright
without alerting the target through court proceedings – yesterday from
Justice Murray Wilcox, and began raiding premises in Queensland, New South
Wales and Victoria this morning searching for documents and electronic
evidence to support its case against the peer-to-peer companies. 

In addition to the offices of Sharman Networks and Brilliant Digital
Entertainment (BDE), MIPI raided the residences of Sharman Networks’ CEO
Nikki Hemming, Brilliant Digital Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and
President Kevin Burmeister and Phil Morle, Director of Technology at Sharman
Networks. Monash University, the University of Queensland and the University
of New South Wales were also raided, as well as four ISPs including Telstra. 

"Telstra lawyers are presently working with lawyers from the record labels
in order to determine exactly what information is being sought under the
terms of the order," Telstra spokesman Warwick Ponder told ZDNet Australia 
. "We have not been asked for and will not provide any BigPond subscriber
information." 

"Telstra has made it very clear for a long time now that it does not support
copyright infringement or any other illegal activity," said Ponder. "At the
same time Telstra clearly respects its obligation to protect customers
information and privacy under the Telecommunication Act and Privacy Act
under Federal law." 

MIPI general manager Michael Speck told ZDNet Australia   the order was
specifically targeted at the operators of the Kazaa network. "This is not
about individuals, this is about the big fish," said Speck. "This is a
signal that Internet music piracy is finished in Australia." The ISPs and
Universities were raided to gain evidence about the operators of the Kazaa
network. 

The investigation into the Kazaa network has been ongoing for six months,
and was precipitated by a significant change in the physical and technical
structure of Sharman Networks, according to Speck. "The Kazaa operation
infringes copyright within the terms of the Australian Copyright Act," he
said. 

"This action appears to be an extraordinary waste of time, money and
resources going over legal ground that has been well and truly covered in
the US and Dutch Courts over the past 18 months," said Sharman Networks in a
statement. "This is a knee-jerk reaction by the recording industry to
discredit Sharman Networks and the Kazaa software, following a number of
recent court decisions around the world that have ruled against the
entertainment industry’s agenda to stamp out peer-to-peer technology." 

Sharman Networks became a target for the music industry when it purchased
the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing technology from its Dutch creators Kazaa
BV in 2002. It has had a long relationship with BDE, and in 2002 had to
defend against a backlash when it was revealed spyware had been included
with the Kazaa software. BDE subsidiary Altnet was later formed and offered
to pay people for hosting content on the Kazaa network. 

"Kazaa operators know the difference and make the decision as to whether
they facilitate legitimate or illegitimate downloads," said Speck. "It's
very clear they are facilitating and authorising global copyright
infringement." 

Sharman disagreed, claiming it bought the Kazaa software "with the express
purpose of building it into a legitimate channel for the distribution of
licensed, copyright protected content which in turn financially benefits
artists". 

"There is no doubt this is a cynical attempt by the industry to disrupt our
business, regain lost momentum, and garner publicity," said Sharman. "The
assertions by plaintiffs are hackneyed and worn out. It is a gross
misrepresentation of Sharman’s business to suggest that the company in any
way facilitates or encourages copyright infringement." 

Monash University and the University of Queensland have challenged the
order, and the arguments will be heard before Justice Wilcox at 3.30 pm
today. 

Sharman Networks, Australian subsidiary LEF Interactive and BDE will face
the record company lawyers before Justice Wilcox on Tuesday. 

According to MIPI, there are around three million users simultaneously
online and connected to the Kazaa network at any one time sharing around 573
million files. Over 850,000 tracks are made available by over 2,500
Australian users. If each downloaded track was purchased for US$0.99 the
total would be over US$2 billion per month globally.

-- 

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