Last month six large record companies brought suit against Stephen Cooper, the maintainer of mp3s4free.net, and E-talk Communications (trading as Comcen Internet Services), the ISP which hosted the site. Today the record companies informed the Federal Court in Sydney of their intention to expand the case to include two directors of the ISP, Liam Bal and Peter Stevens, and employee Chris Takoushis.
Takoushis arranged the deal between Com-Cen and the Web site, according to Michael Speck, General Manager of Music Industry Piracy Investigations. "An employee of a company can be brought into proceedings if they knew what the company was doing was illegal," said Speck.
The move marks another step in the escalation of the battle between the music industry and illegal file sharers. The tactic is intended to scare employees of ISPs to report suspect behaviour, and Speck said the music industry would offer an amnesty to any whistleblower who came forth.
Com-Cen will contest the inclusion of the employees and the directors in the case. Bal told ZDNet Australia that neither director had ever had contact with Stephen Cooper – the maintainer of the site – and that Takoushis only corresponded by e-mail on some account-keeping matters.
Before the trial can proceed the court has to determine whether the individuals working for the ISP should be included in the order. The court also has to resolve confusion over which company – E-talk Communications or Com-Cen – actually runs the ISP Comcen, and therefore which company should be included in the action.
"I anticipate that given what's at stake for the ISPs in this case every point will be bitterly resisted, if not by the parties then by the Internet industry in the public forum," said Speck. He said that music sites such as mp3s4free.net are integral to the business model for the ISPs.
The record companies claimed that over a one-year period 140 million music files were downloaded via the site, and because of the scale of the infringement they would only be quantifying damage for a one-year period, which they estimate could approach AU$300 million, according to Speck.
The case emphasises the growing rift between the music industry and the Internet industry. Earlier this year the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) pulled out of discussions with the Internet Industry Association (IIA) on take-down notices, claiming the process would only benefit ISPs.
"It's highly likely that any take-down model between the music and Internet industries is likely to be hollow document, for the copyright holders at least," said Speck.
Stephen Cooper again failed to attend the hearing today, and Speck said on the next occasion he would instruct the lawyers for the record companies to begin contempt proceedings. Cooper, who lives in Queensland, has previously indicated he does not have the funds to fight the court case.
