Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Google Glasses Will Push Info to Your Eyes Forget reaching for your smartphone »

Judge Kills Off LimeWire

File-sharing site ordered to permanently disable software

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 27, 2010 1:20 AM CDT | Updated Oct 27, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

(Newser) – File-sharing site LimeWire has been effectively killed off by a court order. A federal judge has issued an injunction ordering the service to permanently disable its software and to end the sharing of unauthorized music files, the Wall Street Journal reports. The popular site was found liable for copyright infringement on a "massive scale" six months ago.

A company spokesman says LimeWire will continue to exist, although it's not clear what service it will now offer, and the Recording Industry Association of America, which filed the copyright complaint, will now seek damages likely to exceed $1 billion. LimeWire and founder Mark Gorton have violated the law "for the better part of the last decade," the RIAA said. "The court has now signed an injunction that will start to unwind the massive piracy machine that LimeWire and Gorton used to enrich themselves immensely."

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

Visitors to LimeWire are now greeted by a legal notice. (Limewire)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Plaintiffs have suffered—and will continue to suffer—irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement. - US District Judge Kimba Wood

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

65%

11%

14%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

Bar Offers Free Boob Job—With a Catch (HuffPost)

Sign That a Really Famous Actress Is Finally Pregnant (Celebuzz)

Why Women (Sometimes) Fake It (The Stir)

My Husband Sleeps With His Mom (Slate)

Crocodile Bites Off Man's Testicles (HuffPost)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 35 comments

Spydiggity

Oct 28, 2010 2:28 AM CDT

the real crime is how little the creators of the creative properties get paid when people pay for the product legally. 2-5% of the money generated by somebody's creativity is actually given to the artist when music or movies are purchased in a legitimate fashion. the real criminals are the production companies.

Raggle_Fraggle

Oct 27, 2010 7:21 PM CDT

There was a time when intellectual property laws were meant to stop people from profiting off of others' creative works, but now they are used to justify censoring and stifling the internet, the last bastion of free speech for the common man.

Independent12345

Oct 27, 2010 7:03 PM CDT

Just because it is easy to steal something doesn't mean it's okay. The artist and producer created something you like, something of value to you. Buy it on iTunes (or Amazon mp3). It's just a buck.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Google Glasses Will Push Info to Your Eyes

'Radical' Girl Scouts Back Gays, Abortion: Indiana Rep.

Wall Street Journal (Source Grid »)
CNET (Source Grid »)

Technology • Crime & Courts • Money

music downloads • Recording Industry Association of America • file sharing • P2P • copyright infringement • illegal downloading • Limewire • peer-to-peer

More Newser Stories

Woman May Get New Trial in File-Sharing Conviction

Judge says he gave faulty instructions

(NEWSER) - The judge who presided over America's first music file-sharing trial might call for a do-over, the AP reports. A Minnesota mom was penalized $222,000 for illegal dowloads last fall, but the judge has since discovered that he may have issued faulty jury instructions. That's because a 1993 ruling said a copyright is broken only when copies are disseminated—and it doesn't appear proof of that was presented. More»

Minnesota Mom Fined $1.9M for Illegal Music Downloads

Guilty verdict given in do-over of country's first file-sharing trial

(NEWSER) - A Minnesota woman has been fined $80,000 per song for each of 24 music files she illegally downloaded, CNN reports. The court ordered Jammie Thomas to pay $1.92 million to the Recording Industry of America. Her original trial—America's first for music file-sharing—granted the RIAA just $220,000, but a retrial was ordered after a mistake in jury instructions came to light. She plans to appeal. More»

Illegal Downloaders' Punishment: Slow Internet

Internet providers strike deal to penalize pirates

(NEWSER) - Media companies and Internet providers have agreed on a system to put the brakes on the service of users of illegal file-sharing services. The ISPs have agreed to alert customers up to six times if they believe their account is being used to illegally download music and movie, Reuters reports. After repeated warnings via email or pop-up windows, offenders will have their Internet speed slowed down or could find themselves redirected to an educational page about copyright law. Consumers will be allowed to appeal and ISPs won't be allowed to disclose their identities to the entertainment industry. More»

To Save the Music Industry, Ban Music—and Whistling

The copyright arguments aren't going to stop until the day music dies

(NEWSER) - The music industry wants royalties for the 30-second previews on iTunes—which is "bullshit," writes Nicholas DeLeon for TechGear. It's yet another foolish move in the battle to save the music industry, complains DeLeon. Luckily, he has a "foolproof" way to do just that: Ban music, "shut the whole damn industry down," send iPods to the bottom of the sea, and outlaw whistling. More»

Northwestern Using Emails to Combat File Sharing

Campus prefers education campaign to punishment

(NEWSER) - Northwestern University has a way to decrease peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted files: send students emails. The system, called Be Aware You’re Uploading, delivers email notifications to active p2p users on the network, Ars Technica reports. BAYU has a successful track record of reducing p2p usage and copyright violations. It’s not a real punishment, but BAYU works by informing users oblivious to illegal uploading. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Judge Kills Off LimeWire