Sharman backs out of P2PNet lawsuit

James Delahunty
13 Jul 2006 10:45

Sharman Networks, owner of the Kazaa file sharing service has backed out of a libel lawsuit filed against p2pnet.net editor Jon Newton, his ISP Interserver and four p2pnet users who posted comments anonymously. However, Sharman CEO Nikki Hemming is still marching ahead in her action against Mr. Newton, his ISP and just one of the anonymous posters.
This is indeed a strange case. When it first became public, the obvious question was "What is Sharman Networks, the owner of Kazaa, thinking about that would lead it to sue a pro-P2P technology site?". Well, the company and Ms. Hemming were concerned with the P2Pnet story titled "Nikki Hemming's Money Mansion." To add to the confusion, that particular article extensively uses quotes from an Associated Press article.

The AP reported the following...

The chief executive of the company that owns the Kazaa file-sharing network on Friday denied hastily selling her multimillion dollar Sydney mansion and sending the proceeds to the tax haven of Vanuatu to make sure record company lawyers could not get their hands on it.

Apparently, the anonymous comments referred to Hemming as a "dupe" and a "disgrace". "The Defendants Newton, Interserver, and Richard Roe and each of them published, or caused to be published, and/or continued to publish, the defamatory expression . . . with knowledge of its falsity or alternatively, with reckless indifference whether it was true or false," Hemming's lawsuit states. "Further, or in the alternative, the said Defendant Richard Roe maliciously published his aforesaid defamatory publications for an improper purpose, and/or with the predominant purpose of causing injury to the Plaintiff."

To add even more insult to p2pnet, Hemming's lawyers have suggested that the publicity generated by the lawsuit and subsequent P2Pnet web site hits will counter Newton's legal costs resulting in "a net profit and ensuring the permanent success of [Newton's] P2P Website." They are upset with how they claim Jon Newton has made the entire affair public.

This is a major freedom of speech issue and if p2pnet were to lose this case, it could have a chilling affect for bloggers in Canada.

Source:
The Register