Court Orders Kazaa to Stop Pirates

A federal judge on Monday ordered distributors of the popular file-swapping program Kazaa to alter the software, which millions have downloaded, so it can no longer be used for music piracy.

Hailed as a victory by the recording industry that brought the suit, the decision has implications well beyond Australia, where Kazaa executives are based, because Kazaa's users span the globe.

The ruling released late Sunday night held liable Sharman Networks, the Sydney-based company that has owned Kazaa since early 2002, as well as its chief executive, Nikki Hemming. The Sydney federal judge also found that a Sharman partner, Altnet, violated Australian copyright law. The ruling applied to Altnet's parent company, Brilliant Digital Entertainment, and its chief executive, Kevin Bermeister. Legal scholars said the decision may ultimately lead to the demise of Kazaa, just as a similar injunction by a San Francisco federal judge in July 2000 hastened the death of Napster, the pioneering file-swapping service.

It gave Kazaa two months to include filters to prevent the trading of copyrighted music and tossed out record industry claims of contravention of the Trade Practices Act and conspiracy.

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