   So have you guys been kepping up with the Kazaa case?
  In case you haven''t kept up there being sued by the recording industry at the moment and their offices got raided last week. Of course they didn''t find anything illegal on their computers because kazaa don''t distribute anything illegal themselves.There was just an interview on a local current affairs program, the transcript should be here in an hour or 2:http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/default.htmThey guy from the recording industry seemed particularly ignorant when he stated the Sharman networks distribute pirated music.A few reasons why I think Kazaa will win:- Bongs and hydroponic kits are available for sale in Australian stores and I bet they used for illegal activites more often than not.- As a country we usually don''t make piracy laws at the expense of civil rights. Regardless of any EULA we are allowed to make legimate backups of software, console games and music- Sharman networks probably have more computer expertise than the entire recording industry combined.What if Kazaa did lose?- Does that mean we can sue Microsoft because a virus was made with visual studio or because their products allowed a virus to proliferate?- Could an open source equivelant of Kazaa become the next Kazaa/Napster? If this happened the repurcutions for the recording industry could be far worse, how would the recording industry sue an international group of independant people?Discuss! 
  WinMX would just take its spot.''Nuf said.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island) ;  Kazaa is a piece of spyware-ridden junk anyway.  Use Shareaza.   [ DGDev -- The Delphi Games Development Community ] [ Help GameDev.net fight cancer ];quote:Original post by Useless Hacker  Kazaa is a piece of spyware-ridden junk anyway.  Use Shareaza.   [ DGDev -- The Delphi Games Development Community ] [ Help GameDev.net fight cancer ] OR kazaa lite.   I Want My Island"Luck is for people without skill."- Robert (I Want My Island) ;  But... if their   not hosting anything illegal, what do the companies have against them?Black CD''s are used to transfer a fair bit of illegal stuff, yet we couldn''t sue the CDR makers... could we? *mischievous grin appears* But then again, I think/know the justice system is totally over the top. Look at that other thread for those strange lawsuits. THose are the people who should be behind bars.That done, I''m going to have a shower.Plus, I keep imagining that that *mischievous grin* isn''t on my   face. *looks around* hmm...   Look, one of the few who hasn''t   asked Salsa for an Avatar.Nor do I follow the trend of putting "I don''t follow trends" in your sig.Wait... ;quote:Original post by Tooko  But... if theirnot hosting anything illegal, what do the companies have against them?Black CD''s are used to transfer a fair bit of illegal stuff, yet we couldn''t sue the CDR makers... could we? *mischievous grin appears* But then again, I think/know the justice system is totally over the top. Look at that other thread for those strange lawsuits. THose are the people who should be behind bars.That done, I''m going to have a shower.Plus, I keep imagining that that *mischievous grin* isn''t on myface. *looks around* hmm...   Look, one of the few who hasn''tasked Salsa for an Avatar.Nor do I follow the trend of putting "I don''t follow trends" in your sig.Wait...   You''re forgetting they initially tried to make CDs (and tapes, and 8-tracks) illegal.  Same w/ blank CDs/DVDs.  Sharman doesn''t need to be doing anything legal, if they were based in the US (I don''t know about Australian law, but I doubt it matters: no matter the country, whomever has the most money wins), if their products helps "support" piracy - the definition of "support" is, obviously debatable (again, most money = win), they can be sued and their product declared illegal.  Of course, CD/DVD burners, VCRs, tapedecks, etc., can ALSO be used to "support" piracy, but those decisions were made many years ago, in a much different political and economic environment, and under a judicial system not run by someone who stole the rule of the US - if the CD/DVD blank/recorder issue(s) were to come up now, I seriously wonder if they wouldn''t be outlawed... -Nick "digisoap" RobalikWeb & Print Design, 2D & 3D Illustration and Animation, Game Designhttp://www.digital-soapbox.comnick@digital-soabox.com;quote:Original post by digisoap  Of course, CD/DVD burners, VCRs, tapedecks, etc., can ALSO be used to "support" piracy, but those decisions were made many years ago, in a much different political and economic environment, and under a judicial system not run by someone who stole the rule of the US - if the CD/DVD blank/recorder issue(s) were to come up now, I seriously wonder if they wouldn''t be outlawed...They wouldn''t, the law isn''t *that* broad.  Not only do VCRs and CD burners have a number of completely legitimate uses, you can''t begin to compare the way they can be used to pirate with the way Kazaa can be used to pirate.  And that''s one of the four issues the law instructs the courts to consider when deciding fair use.  Off the top of my head, I can only remember two of them [usage and scope of damages], and VCRs/CD burners clearly pass both of them.For the most part, faith in the judicial system isn''t entirely unwarranted.With the VS virus question, that''s an entirely different branch of law.  Kazaa would have nothing to do with it.  Virii have nothing to do with copyrights, so copyright law can''t be used against MS.  In a civil case, it is posible MS could be held responsible for allowing VS to create a virus, but legally there''s nothing MS has done wrong.CM ;  The biggest thing Kazaa has going for them is the ACCC, a federally funded consumer rights watchdog, who have a fairly hefty set of balls. They generally won''t allow things with legal uses to be banned because they can be used for illegal purposes.The ACCC stance on allowing users to create backups of games (including console games) nearly stopped the xbox from being launched here. ;quote:Original post by Conner McCloud  Not only do VCRs and CD burners have a number of completely legitimate uses, ... so do peer 2 peer programs.   Look, one of the few who hasn''t   asked Salsa for an Avatar.Nor do I follow the trend of putting "I don''t follow trends" in your sig.Wait... 