Music
LimeWire agrees to pay record companies $105 million over illegal filesharing
by Ciaran Thompson
May 13, 2011
The legal battle between thirteen record companies and filesharing website LimeWire has ended with the latter agreeing to an out of court settlement that has the site forking over $105 million to the Recording Industry of America (RIAA).
A Federal District Court judge ruled last October that LimeWire’s filesharing capabilities be disabled. The trial began early this month, but according to the Associated Press, LimeWire creator Mark Gorton has now settled with the RIAA (which includes labels like Sony Music and Warner).
In a statement, Chief Executive of the RIAA Mitch Bainwol said, “We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement following the court’s finding that both LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton are personally liable for copyright infringement.
“As the court heard during the last two weeks, LimeWire wreaked enormous damage on the music community, helping contribute to thousands of lost jobs and fewer opportunities for aspiring artists.”
