LimeWire Loses RIAA Case Over Copyright Infringement, possible "Napster-ization" ahead

[Amerigo Vespucci]

LimeWire Loses RIAA Case Over Copyright Infringement

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/12/limewire-loses-riaa-case-_n_574338.html

LOS ANGELES — File-sharing software company LimeWire has lost a long-running court battle to the major recording companies.

A judge with the U.S. District Court in New York ruled this week that the company and its chairman, Mark Gorton, were liable for inducing copyright infringement.

The decision in the case, which began in 2006, doesn't mean the site will shut down right away. The record labels and LimeWire are to meet with Judge Kimba Wood on June 1 to determine the next steps, such as a possible deal to work together going forward and a potential award for damages.

Recording Industry Association of America Chairman Mitch Bainwol said in a statement Wednesday that the ruling was "an extraordinary victory" against one of the largest remaining file-sharing services in the United States.

The RIAA said more than 200 million copies of LimeWire's file-sharing software have been downloaded so far, including 340,000 in the last week alone.

The ruling could pave the way for a deal, similar to the way Napster was sued out of existence in 2000 but was reborn and is now under the ownership of Best Buy Inc. with licensing deals with all the major recording companies.

"This isn't about getting something shut down, it's about getting something licensed and legal," said Steve Marks, general counsel for the RIAA.

LimeWire CEO George Searle said in a statement that while it "strongly opposes" the court's decision, the company held out hope for a deal. The company sells an "Extended Pro" version of its free software for $34.95 a year, leaving open the possibility that a new business model could emerge in cooperation with the music industry.

[Xithras]

1. Limewire still exists? People still use it?

Who knew!?!?!

I haven't used it in probably five or six years, and haven't met anyone else who talked about using it in a few years. I thought everyone moved to BT!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Same here...

...type virtually any rock CD name into Google and the top results will have the word "torrent" in there somewhere.

[NightHawk63]

6. Oh yeah, it still lives.

I can't tell you how many friends ask me to fix their computers because they are polluted with viruses, worms and other such nastiness. Without fail, they are ALL using LimeWire.

[Lyric]

8. I dislike BT seeder/leecher nannies.

Give me mIRC any day. :)

[JNelson6563]

3. You are a pirate!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv3d7y5i7Uc

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. Did you notice the TEN MINUTE loop version of that clip?

Twelve seconds is one thing...ten minutes is another.

:rofl:

:toast:

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Yarr, harr, fiddle-de-dee. n/t

[Lyric]

7. Limewire is full of fake files and viruses. Nobody uses it anymore.

mIRC, people. It's the only way to go. :)

[Soylent Brice]

9. LimeWire - where you can be infected with viruses faster

than a romp with Edgar Allen Poe.