Limewire whacked!!

[annie]

May 12, 2010 11:09 AM PDT
RIAA wins big in LimeWire lawsuit

In a decision that could mean sweeping changes to file sharing in the United States, a federal court has found the company that operates file-sharing service LimeWire liable for copyright infringement, according to court records reviewed by CNET.

U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, for the Southern District of New York, on Tuesday granted summary judgment in favor of the music industry's claims that Lime Group, parent of LimeWire software maker Lime Wire, and founder Mark Gorton committed copyright infringement, engaged in unfair competition, and induced copyright infringement.

"The evidence demonstrates that [Lime Wire] optimized LimeWire's features to ensure that users can download digital recordings, the majority of which are protected by copyright," Wood said in her 59-page decision. "And that [Lime Wire] assisted users in committing infringement.

read more here
RIAA wins big in LimeWire lawsuit | Media Maverick - CNET News

 

[0000]

I find this a little bit ridiculous... guilt by association it seems like.. yeah, that is what everyone used Limewire for, but that wasn't the sole purpose of the program.. also.. who are they going to sue next, I can google just any song and come up with at least 5 illegal results on the first page, it's a losing battle and they need to figure out a way to embrace it, possibly even use it to their advantage, don't know how, that is up to them

I'm kind of glad I rarely, rarely, rarely use limewire anymore

 

[annie]

^^^^^ I am sure that it will cause other downloading sites to worry. Here is a legal opinion.

With an injunction, the RIAA can force LimeWire to cease file-sharing operations. Music industry sources who spoke to CNET on condition of anonymity said the RIAA, the trade group representing the four largest music labels, is considering whether to seek an injunction prior to a status conference Wood scheduled for June 1. If that happens, LimeWire may have little room to maneuver and the company could be forced to shutter operations within weeks. Representatives for the Lime Group did not respond to interview requests. An RIAA spokesman declined to comment.

While Wood's decision won't come close to killing online piracy--there's still BitTorrent and plenty of other ways to share files--she likely has scuttled a peer-to-peer service used by nearly 60 percent of the people who download songs. She also may have ushered out the era of large, well-funded file-sharing services, at least the kind that help distribute mostly copyright-infringing content. By making Gorton personally liable for damages, Wood served notice that operating these kinds of businesses is now a very risky financial endeavor. If the RIAA gets its way, Gorton, Lime Wire, and Lime Group will collectively be responsible for paying damages of $450 million.

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Gack...that's my go to place for when I can't afford to actually buy music, which is all of the time these days.

 

[0000]

^^^^^ I am sure that it will cause other downloading sites to worry. Here is a legal opinion.

With an injunction, the RIAA can force LimeWire to cease file-sharing operations. Music industry sources who spoke to CNET on condition of anonymity said the RIAA, the trade group representing the four largest music labels, is considering whether to seek an injunction prior to a status conference Wood scheduled for June 1. If that happens, LimeWire may have little room to maneuver and the company could be forced to shutter operations within weeks. Representatives for the Lime Group did not respond to interview requests. An RIAA spokesman declined to comment.

While Wood's decision won't come close to killing online piracy--there's still BitTorrent and plenty of other ways to share files--she likely has scuttled a peer-to-peer service used by nearly 60 percent of the people who download songs. She also may have ushered out the era of large, well-funded file-sharing services, at least the kind that help distribute mostly copyright-infringing content. By making Gorton personally liable for damages, Wood served notice that operating these kinds of businesses is now a very risky financial endeavor. If the RIAA gets its way, Gorton, Lime Wire, and Lime Group will collectively be responsible for paying damages of $450 million.

I think that's wrong because there is legal operations that people use limewire for as well.. .it's not simply for illegal song downloads.. and you're right.. there's 1000s of other options people can go to.. Bear share, safe share, rapidshare, megaupload, beemp3, countless other torrent sites and torrent opening programs, and countless other file hosts that people will still download from... I hoenstly don't think this case does anything except hurt Limewire.. there has to be a way that they can work something out, also.. how can they even count how many songs were downloaded through limewire?

I just don't get it

 

[davorp]

LimeWire sucks anyway! If you want to install yourself a spyware or a virus, its a way to go lol

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

LimeWire sucks anyway! If you want to install yourself a spyware or a virus, its a way to go lol

Pish posh. Not that it's going to matter since it looks like Limewire is circling the drain anyway but everyone should have anti virus and spyware protection on their computer regardless so then you don't have to worry about catching anything more than you would from anywhere else on the internet.

 

[Magic]

There is more to the story, there has to be or else LimeWire would shut down immediately. I bet they will try to negotiate Lime Group into giving up user information,,,which is BS.

 

[LG]

Haven't used Limewire for years, not surprising that the RIAA wins this round though. This battle will go on and on for years, and the media companies and government lackeys still don't get it...

 

[AboutAGirl]

It's a sad day for music. But it doesn't matter at all, really. Everybody I've ever heard of stopped using Limewire by 2006. Obviously the slow-moving court system will never catch up with the fast-paced pirate community. It's like the evolution of the flower versus the dinosaur... except the flower is evolving 10 years for every 1 year, and the dinosaur is evolving 1/2 year for every 2 years.