RIAA wins piracy lawsuit against LimeWire
updated 04:30 pm EDT, Wed May 12, 2010
RIAA wins copyright lawsuit against LimeWire
A lawsuit that dates back to 2006 has been settled, with a federal court judge finding file-sharing service LimeWire liable for copyright infringement. The judge ruled in favor of the RIAA and its member labels that LimeWire's parent company engaged in 'unfair competition' and induced copyright infringement.
Lime Group "optimized LimeWire's features to ensure that users can download digital recordings, the majority of which are protected by copyright," the judge wrote in her decision. The peer-to-peer app was allegedly assisting users in piracy by making it easier to find copyrighted works and to download them without a centralized site.
The decision could set a significant precedent, as it is estimated LimeWire is used by half of all illegal downloaders. The service could be shut down as a result of the ruling, if RIAA gets a preliminary injunction against LimeWire. [via CNET]
