Kazaa Settles with Record Labels for $100,000,000
That's a lot of zeros
Thursday, July 27, 2006 by Zoomba | Discussion: WinCustomize News
Sharman Networks, the company behind the Kazaa P2P program have finally
reached a settlement with the record industry. The deal has the company
paying out more than $100 million to the labels in exchange for all pending
litigation to be dropped.
While the record labels pushed this settlement as a victory over P2P, and tried to cast Sharman Networks in a bad light, Sharman instead pointed out that this settlement actually legitimizes P2P as a viable download medium for digital content.
The question now remains of if this settlement is too little too late for the beleaguered company/file sharing network, or if it will be the shot in the arm it needs to make a comeback.
Sea Hourse
Reply #2 Thursday, July 27, 2006 5:43 PM
Reply #2 Thursday, July 27, 2006 5:43 PM
So where did Sharman Networks happen to have a spare 100,000,000 just sitting around? I thought Kazaa was long dead except for users who didn't know better. Apparently not. Obviously there is a lot of money to be made in providing the means for people to "borrow" the creations of others.
Jafo
Reply #3 Thursday, July 27, 2006 7:36 PM
Reply #3 Thursday, July 27, 2006 7:36 PM
| Obviously there is a lot of money to be made in providing the means for people to "borrow" the creations of others. |
Yep....and till this settlement the legitimate owners of the product never saw a penny of that 'profit'...
Tarkus
Reply #4 Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:33 PM
Reply #4 Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:33 PM
Though I certainly wouldn't expect the RIAA to be too generous in distributing that $100M to the artists. After all, their theft is perfectly legal. 
Excalpius
Reply #5 Friday, July 28, 2006 2:57 AM
Um, I guess no one has put two and two together on this. The same guys who created Kazaa also created and just sold Skype to Ebay for $2.4 BILLION. So effectively, Ebay just paid off Kazaa's lawsuit and I sure there is plenty left to settle with the MPAA. Smoooooooooooooooooooth.
Reply #5 Friday, July 28, 2006 2:57 AM
| So where did Sharman Networks happen to have a spare 100,000,000 just sitting around? |
Um, I guess no one has put two and two together on this. The same guys who created Kazaa also created and just sold Skype to Ebay for $2.4 BILLION. So effectively, Ebay just paid off Kazaa's lawsuit and I sure there is plenty left to settle with the MPAA. Smoooooooooooooooooooth.
Kuruus
Reply #6 Friday, July 28, 2006 7:47 AM
Reply #6 Friday, July 28, 2006 7:47 AM
To me this whole mess is rather like sueing the automobile manufacturers for creating cars that can exceed the speed limit instead of finding the drivers at fault for speeding. I keep wondering when the judicial system or the powers that create the laws around the world will wake up to the fact that punishing someone for creating anything that can be misused is plain stupid.
Let's start sueing restaurants, fast food services, supermarkets and farmers for growing and selling foods that can make us fat!
Makes as much sense....
Let's start sueing restaurants, fast food services, supermarkets and farmers for growing and selling foods that can make us fat!
Makes as much sense....
cybermessiah
Reply #8 Friday, July 28, 2006 2:26 PM
Reply #8 Friday, July 28, 2006 2:26 PM
Fast Track, Kazza, Morpheus and Skype: Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis...all tied together in 'organized crime' and 'racketeering'... check out this...it's very interesting... 
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060327/0256249.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060327/0256249.shtml
DesignCaddy
Reply #9 Friday, July 28, 2006 6:45 PM
a number of times, actually. fortionately they keep getting thrown out.. but, it was that way with ciggerettes, once, too. Now they get sued left and right for lotta $.
Reply #9 Friday, July 28, 2006 6:45 PM
| Actually, McDonald's has been sued for just that. |
a number of times, actually. fortionately they keep getting thrown out.. but, it was that way with ciggerettes, once, too. Now they get sued left and right for lotta $.
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Reply #1 Thursday, July 27, 2006 4:40 PM
Frankly though it doesn't matter if they distribute free candy - i'll never put that garbage on my system again.