- Posted by: Spicy
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- Oct 27, 2010
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- No Comments
Limewire.com shut down
The popular file sharing website, Limewire, has been shut down after a long battle with the music industry.
Are we really surprised? I tell you what, I was more surprised that Limewire still existed! Like those before it, (e.g. ‘Napster’), Limewire was shut down for distributing massive amounts of copyrighted material. Limewire has been locked in a legal fight against the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for four years now.
From Guardian.co.uk:
Founded in 2000 by Mark Gorton, a former Wall Street trader, LimeWireis now restricted from allowing the searching and sharing of copyrighted material. The website will continue “working with the music industry to move forward”, a LimeWire spokeswoman confirmed.
US judge Kimba Wood ruled that record companies “have suffered – and will continue to suffer – irreparable harm from LimeWire’s inducement of widespread infringement of their works”, adding that the potential damages were “staggering”.
The court also ruled that LimeWire should “use all reasonable technological means to immediately cease and desist” copyright infringements still taking place through applications already downloaded.
LimeWire’s level of damages are to be assessed and will be decided after the first of the year.
Since the court decision, the RIAA has released the following statement:
“For the better part of the last decade, LimeWire and Gorton have violated the law. 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. In January, the court will conduct a trial to determine the appropriate level of damages necessary to compensate the record companies for the billions and billions of illegal downloads that occurred through the LimeWire system.”
Honestly, I can’t believe it took so long for Limewire to be shut down. I used to use that around 2000-ish, but it didn’t take long for it to be full of viruses and malware! Is downloading a free song really worth effing up your computer for? Apparently so for millions.
So long, Limewire, this has been a long time coming. R.I.P.
