KaZaA BV, the Netherlands-based company, originally created the popular file-swapping software. The company was sued last October by the RIAA and the MPAA for copyright infringement. The same lawsuit included the other two major file-swapping companies, StreamCast (owner of Morpheus), and Grokster.
However, in February this year, KaZaA sold the software to Sharman, a company based on a small Pacific island. The RIAA and the MPAA, which act on behalf of record labels and Hollywood film studios, asked a court for permission to add Sharman to the lawsuit in June. On Monday, a federal Judge gave them permission to take action against the company.
Sharman, StreamCast and Grokster deny any legal liability because they do not maintain central servers but simply distribute peer-to-peer software.
A spokesman for Sharman said:
“Sharman’s fundamental belief is that the distribution of the KaZaA Media Desktop is not only legal but also one of the most important drivers of the future of peer-to-peer technology. We are confident that our legal position will be vindicated by the court.”
KaZaA.com claims that over 99 million copies of its software have been downloaded to date.