LimeWire “Guilty” of Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition – US Judge
Citing the recent ruling of the United States Supreme Court against online music service Grokster, a US District Court judge on Tuesday ruled versus LimeWire and its owner Mark Gorton, saying that the file-sharing website was found “guilty” of copyright infringement and unfair competition.
In his 59-page ruling, Judge Kimba Wood said that LimeWire has infringed and violated copyright laws by sharing music files owned by some 13 music labels.
“The evidence establishes that LimeWire users directly infringed plaintiffs’ copyrights and that LimeWire engaged in purposeful conduct intended to foster that infringement,” the order added.
The judge also said that the “free” music distribution being made by LimeWire in its website has directly compete with the music owners, thus, affecting record sales.
With this, the court has granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment over the unfair competition charges against the online giant.
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Chairman Mitch Baiwol has welcomed the court’s ruling, saying that “it is an important milestone for the music industry and the creative community of artists.”
He said that the fight to reclaim the World Wide Web as a legitimate and legal platform for music commerce has seen light with the court’s decision.
“The court, in its order, has made it clear that LimeWire and its owner are liable for inducing widespread copyright infringement using their software. This is an extraordinary victory for the people in the music industry,” Baiwol added.
The case against LimeWire starte in 2006, six years after it has released its peer-to-peer (P2P) networking capability, allowing millions of users to share music files illegally.
The plaintiffs included in the complaint are the Interscope Records, Arista Records, Atlantic Recording Corp., Sony BMG Music Entertainment, BMG Music, Capitol Records, UMG Recordings, Elektra Entertainment Group, Laface Records, Motown Record Co.,Priority Records, Virgin Records America and Warner Bros. Records.