Record labels sue LimeWire after no signs of becoming legal

August 6, 2006

With the Supreme Court ruling against Grokster last year that software companies behind P2P networks can be held liable if its users illegally share copyrighted material over it, the RIAA has been busy sending out cease and desist letters to various software companies behind P2P networks and going after those who continute to do not start restricting the unauthorised sharing of copyrighted material. Back in September 2005, LimeWire announced plans to release a version of its software that would block the sharing of unlicensed content.

With no sign of LimeWire planning to release a legal version yet, the record labels Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group Plc and Warner Music Group Corp. have all given up waiting, which led to them suing the makers of LimeWire last Friday. This complaint was filed in Manhattan's federal court, accusing the company of allowing its users to download music without paying for it and profiting from its software that freely allowed this to take place. According to the RIAA, LimeWire's corporate owners have not shown any significant interest in developing a legal business model. Thanks to Hypnosis4U2NV for letting us know about this news:

The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, is the latest in a string of lawsuits the music industry has filed in an attempt to curb Internet piracy. That effort was bolstered last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that content companies can take legal action against technology firms that encourage copyright infringement.

Record labels owned by the world's four major music companies -- Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group Plc (EMI.L), and Warner Music Group Corp. -- brought the lawsuit against New York-based Lime Wire LLC.

The suit seeks $150,000 in damages for every song "willfully infringed" by LimeWire. It also names LimeWire parent Lime Group LLC as well as chief executive Mark Gorton and chief operating officer Greg Bildson as defendants.

This lawsuit really comes as no surprise, particularly since LimeWire is based in New York, operates in much the same way as Grokster, Kazaa and other file sharing networks and did not follow the RIAA's requests. However, unlike most other file
sharing networks that mainly relied on advertising for funding its development, LimeWire constantly encourages its users to upgrade to its premium Pro version, which is not free. Its basic software also displays a nag screen every time it loads.

Going by LimeWire's homepage, it appears like there is no free version until the user clicks the 'Download' or 'Get basic' links at the top of the screen. Even if the user decides to buy the software, they are only entitled to 6 months of free updates and must pay to get further updates. As a result, this is a clear sign that the company aims to profit financially from its software, unlike other open source file sharing software packages that mainly rely on donations to help fund their development.

Source: Yahoo Technology News