Hollywood Tries To Corner Kazaa

LOS ANGELES (Mp3 news) - On Monday, November 24, a federal court in Los Angeles will consider whether entertainment companies may sue Sharman Networks, distributor of the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing software, in U.S. courts.

Sharman is incorporated in the island-nation of Vanuatu, operates out of Australia, and distributes the Kazaa software from servers located outside the U.S. Attorneys for Sharman will argue that their client is an off-shore corporation with no substantial contacts with the U.S., thus the company cannot be sued in U.S. courts. Sharman is represented by the Los Angeles law firm of Hennigan, Bennett & Dorman.

The judge will also consider procedural motions brought by StreamCast Networks, distributors of the Morpheus peer-to-peer software, in preparation for a summary judgment hearing scheduled for December 2, 2002. StreamCast is represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the law firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.

The hearing will be held at 1:30pm on Monday, November 25, before U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson at the U.S. Federal Courthouse, located at 312 North Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.