07 June 2010 | Author: J. Morton News Editor

Lime Wire looks fresh out of options after RIAA legal complaint

The future of file-sharing site Lime Wire has been left largely to a US district court judge after the Recording Industry Association of America filed a request for a permanent injunction to cut its revenue stream.

The RIAA request, currently resting in the hands of Judge Kimba Wood, would have Lime Wire forbidden from streaming advertisements and collecting the revenue thereof, in addition to quashing any future software upgrades.

Wood has already found the software's parent company, Lime Group, along with founder Mark Gorton liable of copyright infringement, which could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars. In light of this, many experts have said Lime Group has little left to work with.

However, a spokesman for Lime Wire commented the company is "preparing for all scenarios.

"During this time, we're remaining focused on our future plans and dedicated to the development of a music service that benefits artists, music consumers and the industry."

However, the RIAA seems less than willing to enter into agreements with the company, any of which would likely entail large cash reparations. On Friday, the RIAA suggested that Lime Wire be liable for up to US$150,000 (£103,000) per infringed work.

The industry body also accused founder Gorton of funnelling assets in order to evade full damage repayments.

"Lime Wire has attempted to secrete assets into Mark Gorton-controlled 'family partnerships' with the intention of shielding those assets from a judgment award in this case," their complaint said. "Nevertheless, even if [the RIAA] can unearth the assets Lime Wire has buried in an effort to protect them from judgment, Lime Wire has provided no evidence that it could satisfy a damages award of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The RIAA has also requested that Lime Wire be made to prove they've taken steps to curtail or end distribution, advertising and sales, as well as further measures to clear the service of infringed material.

Perhaps as a response, Downloads.com, which has facilitated a reported 150 million downloads of the programme in the past two years, has pulled the plug on the software's link on their website.

Home | Careers | RSS | Contact Us | Newsletter

International sites: