Kazaa to appeal Piller order
p2pnet.net News:- Kazaa owner Sharman Networks has lodged an application for leave to appeal the Anton Piller ruling handed down by Judge Wilcox of the Federal Court of Australia on 4 March.
“We remain resolute about our position in this case – the plaintiffs are not raising any new issues here,” says Sharman. ceo Nikki Hemming.
“This appeal is about standing up for what we believe in – the right for peer-to-peer technology to exist as a legitimate model for digital distribution.”
Under an Anton Piller order, a court empowers a party that’s alleging wrongdoing of some kind to enter a premises to search for evidence. Big Music’s Australian enforcer MIPI (Music Industry Privacy Investigations) used one to raid Sharman’s offices, and employee homes.
MIPI is owned by owned by Universal, Festival Mushroom Records, EMI Music, Sony Music, Warner Music Australia and BMG Australia.
“The numerous grounds for appeal include that the judge failed to consider many of the arguments raised by Sharman Networks,” says Sharman in a statement. “In particular, he failed to consider the non-disclosure by the record industry and the lack of evidence of possession by Sharman of incriminating evidence, and the fact that there was no real possibility of destruction of evidence.
“His Honour, in exercising his discretion, failed to consider the relevance of the US and Netherlands proceedings, and in particular the judgements of both courts, which found that the owners and operators of Kazaa and other p2p applications had no means of control over the activities of users. Importantly, Judge Wilcox dismissed as irrelevant Sharman’s conduct in the US proceedings on the basis that the material sought be preserved by the Anton Piller order was ‘transitory’.”
The Australian Federal Court will now set a date to hear the application for leave to appeal, and the appeal itself.
