Sharman Networks
Encyclopedia
Sharman Networks is a company headquartered in Australia
and incorporated in Vanuatu
. It owns the rights to the KaZaA
file sharing
software. It was created for this purpose in 2001 when the original owners of KaZaA were sued in the Netherlands
.
In December 2003, Sharman shut down Kazaa Lite K++ by serving DMCA
notices to all the server owners that hosted the software.
In April 2004 Sharman threatened legal action against Markus Kern for his distribution of the giFT Fasttrack plugin claiming that reverse engineering Sharman's Fasttrack network was illegal.
The CEO
of Sharman Networks is Nikki Hemming
. Alan Morris
is the executive vice president. Phil Morle
is the director of technology.
In 2006, Sharman launched a defamation suit against p2pnet.net, a one-man digital media news site specialising in freedom of speech and file sharing issues http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5230776.stm. Sharman later dropped out, leaving executive Nikki Hemming to keep the suit going. It has not yet been resolved.
The company is currently involved in legal brawls in Australia and the U.S.
over the alleged use of KaZaA to infringe copyright
s. (As of 8 March 2009 its still unclear if these cases have been resolved.)
KaZaA has partnered with Major Record Labels, Music distributors,and Re-opened the KaZaA website, To listen and download any music for a monthly cost with certain Strings attached. as said in their about section of their new website.
KaZaA is a subscription-based service that gives you unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of CD-quality tracks.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and incorporated in Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
. It owns the rights to the KaZaA
Kazaa
Kazaa Media Desktop started as a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks...
file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
software. It was created for this purpose in 2001 when the original owners of KaZaA were sued in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
In December 2003, Sharman shut down Kazaa Lite K++ by serving DMCA
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
notices to all the server owners that hosted the software.
In April 2004 Sharman threatened legal action against Markus Kern for his distribution of the giFT Fasttrack plugin claiming that reverse engineering Sharman's Fasttrack network was illegal.
The CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Sharman Networks is Nikki Hemming
Nikki Hemming
Nikki Hemming is the CEO and part owner of Sharman Networks and President of LEF Interactive, an agency based in Sydney, Australia, responsible for promoting and developing Kazaa, a peer-to-peer file sharing network, since 2002...
. Alan Morris
Alan Morris
Alan Morris was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a leg-break bowler. He played first-class cricket between 1974 and 1980....
is the executive vice president. Phil Morle
Phil Morle
Phil Morle is a consultant advising internet startups on building and operating large-scale consumer internet platforms. In recent years Morle has advised startups including Yoick, YelloYello, Omnidrive, Prime, 3eep and Tangler. Morle has been active in industry standards groups, as one of the...
is the director of technology.
In 2006, Sharman launched a defamation suit against p2pnet.net, a one-man digital media news site specialising in freedom of speech and file sharing issues http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5230776.stm. Sharman later dropped out, leaving executive Nikki Hemming to keep the suit going. It has not yet been resolved.
The company is currently involved in legal brawls in Australia and the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
over the alleged use of KaZaA to infringe copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s. (As of 8 March 2009 its still unclear if these cases have been resolved.)
KaZaA has partnered with Major Record Labels, Music distributors,and Re-opened the KaZaA website, To listen and download any music for a monthly cost with certain Strings attached. as said in their about section of their new website.
KaZaA is a subscription-based service that gives you unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of CD-quality tracks.