The latest round of legal activity is taking place and neither side can afford to lose.
http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1101It appears after the first day of testimony, the ARIA is not fairing much better. Sharman Network’s lead council, John Ireland blasted the ARIA's main arguments, while proclaiming Judge Murray Wilcox was misled.
The court heard how Wilcox J, the judge who presided over the original case, could be forgiven for his original decision because, as Mr. John Ireland QC, Sharman’s counsel, said: “he was led down the garden path by the record companies”.
Also a statement of interest, Judge Branson queried whether the ARIA simply alerted Sharman networks they had a problem with infringement taking place on the FastTrack network.
Justice Branson queried if the music companies ever approached Sharman Networks to alert them to the fact they had a problem with their sound recordings being infringed by people using the Kazaa software, as would be expected in any business situation before any problem escalates into costly litigation.
“Had they ever offered a list [of sound recordings that were being infringed by users of the Kazaa software]?”, Justice Branson asked.
“No, they hadn’t,” Sharman’s counsel replied. “There was no gentlemanly discussion or dialogue”
Arguments will close this Friday. At this point, it’s likely the decision will give Sharman Networks the ability to conduct business in a manner that respects copyrights, while forcing the ARIA into negotiations.
It seems the Judges are not happy with the "bulldozer" style of legal assault upon Sharman Networks, this will prove an interesting few days in any event, as the Cartels dirty tricks and incorrect assertions will be openly challenged and refuted in a true battle of the giants.
