Record Labels Win LimeWire Case
Yesterday (May 12) a court hearing ruled in favor of 13 record companies that sued Lime Group for infringement and engaging in unfair competition.
Justice David Souter ruled that someone who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use for copyright infringement, "as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps," is liable for third-party infringement, even if the device is also used lawfully.
LimeWire, a peer-to-peer file-sharing service, allowed its 50 million monthly users to share digital recordings protected by copyright. A win for consumers, but a loss for record labels who have taken a huge hit in the pocket since the file-sharing boom kicked off in the Napster days.
"The evidence demonstrates that Lime Wire optimized LimeWire's features to ensure that users can download digital recordings, the majority of which are protected by copyright, and that Lime Wire assisted users in committing infringement," Wood wrote in her 59-page ruling.
She added that Gorton "directed and benefited from many of the activities that gave rise to Lime Wire's liability," and knew about the copyright infringement.
The lawsuit was filed in August 2006.
Record labels take the victorious feat as a step towards regaining control of the industry, ultimately sending a warning to other web properties who share music illegally.
Mitch Bainwol, chief executive of The Recording Industry of Association of America, a trade group representing the labels, in a statement praised Wood's ruling.
"The court's decision is an important milestone in the creative community's fight to reclaim the Internet as a platform for legitimate commerce," he said. "The court has sent a clear signal to those who think they can devise and profit from a piracy scheme that will escape accountability."
LimeWire CEO George Searle is committed to working with the recording industry and develop products that comply with the ruling. I'm sure Arista, Atlantic, BMG Music, Capital, Elektra, Interscope, LaFace, Motown, Priority, Sony BMG, UMG, Virgin and Warner Brothers are happy about that.
Now what's going to happen with Torrents? BitTorrent is similar to LimeWire but on a larger scale. Instead of sharing songs, you share entire albums, movies, DVDs, programs, etc. You can download the whole collection of The Who and the latest version of Rosetta Stone while keeping the $1,000 you would pay for those products in your pocket. It's all peer-to-peer and it's also illegal.
I have a feeling they're next to get sued.
-Monique "Marvelous Mo" Balcarran | Email:
News@Roc4Life.com
Source:
http://www.roc4life.com/profiles/blogs/record-labels-win-limewire