[LINK] (Bizarre?) Kazaa Settlement

[Adam Todd]

I was going to but thought no one was really interested in my view :)

Anyway, to express it, I think the Plaintiffs have decided they need the 
Kazza concept to actually beat the market, especially with online 
distribution and downloads etc being a core future business.

Kazza is an existing, functional business and operation that works and 
people are familiar with, why destroy it and then invest in making it again.

Hmmm.



At 05:33 PM 29/07/2006, Roger Clarke wrote:
>[No-one else has posted this, so I guess I'd better.  5 years on, with 
>tens of millions having gone into the pockets of lawyers, the music 
>industry appears to have finally understood what Kazaa was actually all about]
>
>Kazaa forced to play a new tune
>The Sydney Morning Herald (reprint from the NYT)
>Date: July 29 2006
>Eric Pfanner in London
>http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/07/28/1153816379723.html
>
>THE music industry and Hollywood movie studios have settled lawsuits 
>against a long-time nemesis, the owner of the digital file-sharing network 
>Kazaa, which will try to transform itself into a royalty-paying online 
>distributor of films and music.
>
>Sharman Networks, a privately held company that is incorporated in Vanuatu 
>and operates Kazaa from Australia, agreed to pay $US115 million ($151 
>million) to the major record companies and movie studios, which had 
>accused Kazaa of aiding the illegal copying of music on the internet.
>
>Sharman Networks said the agreement, which follows a court ruling against 
>Kazaa in Australia last year and a US Supreme Court decision against other 
>file-sharing services, cleared the way for it to offer "the broadest range 
>of licensed content over Kazaa".
>
>The chief executive of Sharman, Nikki Hemming, said: "All the parties 
>involved now recognise the time is right to work together, and we are 
>looking forward to collaborating with the music and motion picture 
>companies to make P2P an integral part of the future of online digital 
>entertainment."
>
>Peer-to-peer network technology, or P2P, allows users to share computer 
>files over the internet, including music and movies stored in digital 
>form. Kazaa was a pioneer of peer-to-peer network software.
>
>Under the settlement, Sharman would pay the record companies "in excess of 
>$US100 million", said John Kennedy, chief executive of the International 
>Federation of the Phonographic Industry in London.
>
>Executives who were briefed on the agreement said the total payment was 
>$US115 million; they did not provide a breakdown of payments. No details 
>of the settlement with the movie studios were available.
>
>The music industry federation said Sharman had agreed to license music 
>from the four major recording companies - Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, 
>Warner Music and the EMI Group - that own the majority of music 
>copyrights. Independent record labels weren't included, but would be free 
>to pursue their own licensing deals with Sharman, executives said.
>
>Sharman also said it would take steps to prevent unauthorised distribution 
>of material through Kazaa.
>
>"We are under no illusion that this solves everything," Mr Kennedy said, 
>noting that other file-sharing services thrive. "But this is very encouraging."
>
>Under the agreement, the major recording companies would not invest 
>directly in Kazaa but will be entitled to 20 per cent of the proceeds of 
>any eventual sale of the service, Mr Kennedy said, giving them a stake in 
>the success of the new arrangement. Music company executives welcomed the 
>settlement and Universal said it would share the proceeds with its artists.
>
>David Munns, vice-chairman of EMI Music, said in a statement: "While the 
>award may seem like a vast pot of money, it will merely offset the 
>millions we have invested - and will continue to invest - in fighting 
>illegal pirate operations around the world and protecting the works that 
>our artists create."
>
>In making the switch to a licensed, royalty-paying business, Kazaa would 
>follow Napster, one of the original file-swapping services, which was 
>reborn after an adverse court ruling in 2001.
>
>Kazaa has been earning revenue primarily from advertising, and Mr Kennedy 
>said the recording industry would not object if it persisted with an 
>advertiser-supported model, rather than charging users, as long as it pays 
>royalties.
>
>The New York Times
>
>--
>Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
>
>Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
>                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
>mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/
>
>Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
>Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
>Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
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