t0ucan
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Could this be the end read on....
Kazaa BV and Streamcast Network's ensueing legal battle with the entertainment industry is on the brink of collapse because of a severe lack of finances, according to reports from Cnet news.com.
It is understood that Kazaa BV, the Netherlands based file-swapping software company responsible for the software architecture underlying Kazaa, Grokster and earlier versions of the Morpheus network, will yield while StreamCast is to lose its attorney.
In a sequence of events that recall the collapse of fellow peer-to-peer (P2P) company Napster, the weight of litigation costs have once again proved to be the defining factor in legal cases brought by the entertainment industry on the financially weaker start-ups.
"The case is in jeopardy of collapsing simply from the financial attrition of the defendants before a decision on the merits can be reached," stated a legal brief filed by StreamCast's attorneys reports CNet. "If that happens, it would be an unfortunate procedural triumph of a band of enormously powerful and wealthy companies, arising purely from their power and entirely unrelated to the substantive issues in the case."
In resigning from the case, StreamCast attorney Andrew Bridges said: "I've been informed by my client that they cannot sustain the burn rate for legal fees."
The case itself is a concerted attempt by Kazaa BV and StreamCast to establish the legality of fundamental peer-to-peer technology on the grounds that the companies had no direct role in the process of file-swapping, an argument that differentiated the software used by both companies from that of Napsters.
The news of the cases' collapse follows an unprecedented ruling by a Dutch Appeals Court that copyright infringement is not the sole responsibility of Kazaa BV but moreover rests with the users of the technology. However, the entertainment industry moved to dismiss the ruling on the grounds that the software companies are still responsible for the copyright violations committed by users of the file-swapping service, Cnet reported.
Furthermore, Sharman Networks purchased the Kazaa file-swapping software earlier this year. However, the deal did not include Kazaa BV relinquishing control of underlying peer-to-peer technology, called FastTrack.
Sharman Networks recently launched its own new version of the Kazaa file-swapping software which includes segments of the Altnet network, allowing selected paid search results into the Kazaa searches.
Kazaa BV and Streamcast Network's ensueing legal battle with the entertainment industry is on the brink of collapse because of a severe lack of finances, according to reports from Cnet news.com.
It is understood that Kazaa BV, the Netherlands based file-swapping software company responsible for the software architecture underlying Kazaa, Grokster and earlier versions of the Morpheus network, will yield while StreamCast is to lose its attorney.
In a sequence of events that recall the collapse of fellow peer-to-peer (P2P) company Napster, the weight of litigation costs have once again proved to be the defining factor in legal cases brought by the entertainment industry on the financially weaker start-ups.
"The case is in jeopardy of collapsing simply from the financial attrition of the defendants before a decision on the merits can be reached," stated a legal brief filed by StreamCast's attorneys reports CNet. "If that happens, it would be an unfortunate procedural triumph of a band of enormously powerful and wealthy companies, arising purely from their power and entirely unrelated to the substantive issues in the case."
In resigning from the case, StreamCast attorney Andrew Bridges said: "I've been informed by my client that they cannot sustain the burn rate for legal fees."
The case itself is a concerted attempt by Kazaa BV and StreamCast to establish the legality of fundamental peer-to-peer technology on the grounds that the companies had no direct role in the process of file-swapping, an argument that differentiated the software used by both companies from that of Napsters.
The news of the cases' collapse follows an unprecedented ruling by a Dutch Appeals Court that copyright infringement is not the sole responsibility of Kazaa BV but moreover rests with the users of the technology. However, the entertainment industry moved to dismiss the ruling on the grounds that the software companies are still responsible for the copyright violations committed by users of the file-swapping service, Cnet reported.
Furthermore, Sharman Networks purchased the Kazaa file-swapping software earlier this year. However, the deal did not include Kazaa BV relinquishing control of underlying peer-to-peer technology, called FastTrack.
Sharman Networks recently launched its own new version of the Kazaa file-swapping software which includes segments of the Altnet network, allowing selected paid search results into the Kazaa searches.
