Hail to the Thief: A Tribute to Kazaa

46 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2005

See all articles by Matthew Rimmer

Matthew Rimmer

Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Abstract

This paper considers the ongoing litigation against the peer to peer network Kazaa. Record companies and Hollywood studios have faced jurisdictional and legal problems in suing this network for copyright infringement. As Wired Magazine observes:

'The servers are in Denmark. The software is in Estonia. The domain is registered Down Under, the corporation on a tiny island in the South Pacific. The users - 60 million of them - are everywhere around the world.'

In frustration, copyright owners have launched copyright actions against intermediaries - like Internet Service Providers such as Verizon. They have also embarked on filing suits of individual users of file-sharing programs. In addition, copyright owners have called for domestic and international law reform in respect of digital copyright. The Senate Committee on Government Affairs in the United States Congress has reviewed the controversial use of subpoenas in suits against users of file-sharing peer to peer networks. The United States has encouraged other countries to adopt provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US) in bilateral and regional free trade agreements.

Keywords: Copyright Law, Peer-to-Peer Networks, Kazaa, Grokster, Streamcast, Earth Station 5, Internet Jurisdiction, Fair Use, Internet Service Provider Liability, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement

Suggested Citation

Rimmer, Matthew, Hail to the Thief: A Tribute to Kazaa. University of Ottawa Law and Technology Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 173-218, Spring 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=648326

Matthew Rimmer (Contact Author)

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) ( email )

Level 4, C Block Gardens Point
2 George St
Brisbane, Queensland QLD 4000
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
182
Abstract Views
2,932
Rank
299,048
PlumX Metrics