Stories about: Altnet

Executives of Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing system, could face jail time after record companies asked the judge presiding over the trial, Justice Murray Wilcox, to find Sharman leaders in contempt of court.

The Australian recording industry has won a landmark victory against online file-trading service Kazaa, ending a long-running court battle and copyright test case with worldwide implications.

Consumer groups' support of Kazaa met strong resistance at the closely watched Kazaa court trial on Tuesday, as the music industry claimed the peer-to-peer software was not a community interest.

The company directors behind the Kazaa peer-to-peer software have sold and mortgaged their multi-million dollars homes as the end of court proceedings looms.

A computer forensic expert has countered record label claims that the core technologies in Kazaa cooperate to aid copyright infringement.

A secret command that showed the number of connected users of the Kazaa file-sharing software was demonstrated to Federal Court on Thursday.

Kazaa users were never "monitored", Sharman Networks' technology boss claimed under questioning from Justice Murray Wilcox on Wednesday.

Kazaa users were warned of potential copyright infringement issues before they used the system, a witness for the record companies conceded on Tuesday.

Sharman Networks turned up the heat on three record label representatives in the Federal court on Thursday, attacking the labels' spoof files campaign.

A key figure in the Kazaa file-sharing trial arrives in Sydney today to give evidence of Australian users downloading copyright material via the peer-to-peer software.

Sharman Networks was able to filter Kazaa to prevent copyright infringement, but instead chose to build a massive user base for advertising revenue, the Federal Court heard on day one of the peer-to-peer provider's widely-anticipated trial.