Australian music industry raids KaZaA offices, universities and ISPs

February 6, 2004

On the website of the BBC we can read that the Australian music industry has raided the headquaters of Sharman Networks in Sydney. The company had purchased KaZaA from FastTrack and till now the company was only fighting a legal battle in the United States. Besides the Sharman offices also 12 other places, which include universities and ISPs, have been visted.

The Sharman Networks' offices and the homes of two of its executives were raided, along with internet service providers and three universities. The raids were carried out by a group called Music Industry Piracy Investigations, which is owned by Universal, Festival Mushroom Records, EMI Music, Sony Music, Warner Music Australia and BMG Australia.
The music industry would launch legal action against Kazaa in the country's Federal Court on Tuesday, the group's general manager Michael Speck said. "This sends a very clear signal to internet pirates in Australia that the game is up," he said.