Sharman Networks have closed down access to its Kazaa P2P software in Australia in order to comply with orders set down by the country's Federal Court. Our man in Oz reports that when he goes to the Kazaa website he gets a message that reads: "The download of the Kazaa Media Desktop by users in Australia is not permitted". Australians who already have Kazaa software installed on their computers will be able to continue to use it, although when they open it they will see a warning notice advising them not to.
The close down of Kazaa in Australia follows the long running and much previously reported legal battle between the P2P company and the music industry on both a global level and, in particular, in Australia, where parent company Sharman has based many of its operations. The Australian courts ruled that Sharman essentially encouraged Kazaa users to illegally share copyrighted music in a bid to build a huge membership. Sharman then profited by selling advertising on its P2P interface.
However, the Australian courts did not actually order Sharman to close down Kazaa completely. They insisted that the company introduce a 'key word filtering' system which would make it harder for users to share copyrighted music over the P2P network. That system was meant to be in operation initially by 5 Nov, although the courts then extended their deadline until 5 Dec.
With that in mind, it is unclear why Sharman have decided to go for a complete close down rather than introducing a filtering system. While some, including Sharman, question how effective such a system would be in combating the sharing of copyrighted music, that doesn't stop it being introduced just to satisfy the courts. Some argue Sharman have opted for a complete close down in a bid to appear as the underdogs in this battle, rallying consumer support in the run up to their appeal of the original ruling in February. By opting for a close down rather than introducing a filtering system, it also means existing Kazaa users can carry on using the file sharing service without limitation, providing they're willing to skip the warning notice.
Which is presumably what Stephen Peach of the Australian Recording Industry Association was getting at when he told reporters yesterday: "Sharman has thumbed its nose at the court. They were given a chance to do the right thing and they've ruined it. They cannot be trusted to even take the simplest steps towards complying with the court's orders and again have shown they intend to do nothing about the illegal activities occurring on a massive scale on their system."