Courting Kazaa - judicial approaches towards P2P networks in the US and Australia

As with litigation involving its predecessor Napster, cases involving the Australian based P2P service Kazaa and its US licensees Grokster and Morpheus required from the courts to balance the legitimate interests of the computer industry and the public in new and advanced technologies on the one hand and of so-called "content providers" of the media and entertainment industry on the other hand. The article examines, how US and Australian courts have approached this task and, in spite of differences in the legal frameworks of the two countries, have reached similar conclusions.