Sharman Networks, the owner and distributor of the Kazaa peer-to-peer network, argued its case in court on Friday. The company went before the Federal Court of Australia to argue against charges brought by Music Industry Piracy Investigations, a subsidiary of the Australian Recording Industry Association. Sharman Networks, in Cremorne, Australia, is requesting that the court set aside an order allowing the seizure of evidence due to the failure of MIPI to disclose "significant information" to the court when applying for the order.
On February 6, the court granted MIPI an Anton Pillar order, which is often used in software piracy cases, against the owner of the Kazaa network, allowing for the search of Sharman Networks" offices. An Anton Pillar order gives an applicant the right to raid, without notice, the premises of the respondent and seize documentary or other evidence. Judge Murray Rutledge Wilcox, who is presiding over the case in Sidney"s Federal Court of Australia, was quoted by Sharman Networks in a statement Friday as saying that he suspected he was not told the full story by MIPI and their representatives when the application for the Anton Pillar order was originally made. Representatives from Sharman Networks, the MIPI, the ARIA and the Federal Court of Australia could not immediately be reached for comment.