(CelebrityAccess News Service) – Sharman Networks argued in the Federal Court of Australia on February 20 that the Anton Piller order brought against it by the Australian subsidiaries of the major record labels should be set aside on the basis that the plaintiffs and their representatives failed to disclose significant information to the court when applying for the order.
"Sharman believes it received a good hearing today," lawyers for the company said. "The key issue to be determined is whether there has been material non-disclosure by the plaintiffs."
Justice Wilcox stated during the hearing: "I'm not saying I was misled, but I do have the feeling that there was a lot more to the story than I was told."
Sharman lawyers added: "There is no doubt that the Sony Betamax precedent in the US Courts is highly relevant in these proceedings. This precedent holds that providers of a technology that has significant non-infringing uses cannot be held responsible for potential infringing activity by the users of that technology."
The Kazaa software has already been ruled legal by the Dutch Supreme Court, and P2P operators with comparable technology to Kazaa have won a case relating to allegations of copyright infringement in the US, based on the Betamax doctrine.
Commenting on the case, Sharman Networks said: "The record labels seem intent on throwing their full weight behind litigation, all the while refusing to license their content to us which would allow secure distribution through peer-to-peer technology."
The matter has been adjourned for further submissions next week with a decision expected the following week. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
