LimeWire shut down

17 November 2010

The popular American file-sharing service LimeWire has finally shut down following a U.S. federal judge's finding that the company “committed copyright infringement, induced copyright infringement, and engaged in unfair competition”.

LimeWire was one of the biggest services for downloading and sharing music, television and movies for free over the internet.

In 2006 the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents music labels, brought the case against LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton, claiming copyright infringement and unfair competition.

On May 12, 2010 the judge ruled that LimeWire was guilty of copyright infringement and stated that the site “intentionally encouraged direct infringement” and that the company knew about “the substantial infringement being committed”. The ruling required LimeWire to “disable the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality of the software”.

It has been reported that LimeWire and Mark Gorton personally could face damages in the millions. Currently no appeals are expected.

Contact details:

Melbourne
Dan Pearce, Partner
T: +61 (0)3 9321 9841
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Brisbane
Paul Venus, Partner
T: +61 (0)7 3135 0613
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sydney
Ian Robertson
Managing Partner
T: +61 (0)2 8083 0401
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Donna Bartlett
Partner
T: +61 (0)2 8083 0420
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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