File-sharing on the internet was dealt a huge blow when a federal judge issued an injunction that shut down the file-sharing program LimeWire. LimeWire was a free, peer-to-peer file-sharing program that allowed users to share music, videos, and other files over the internet. The injunction, issued by Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York, ordered Lime Wire LLC to disable “the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality” of the LimeWire software. The company promptly disabled LimeWire from accessing the Gnutella peer-to-peer network, effectively rendering it useless. However, users with old versions of the LimeWire are still able to use the software for file-sharing so long as they don’t upgrade to the current version of the software.
In addition to the injunction, Lime Wire will also be forced to pay damages for the violation of copyright law. In May, Judge Wood ruled that LimeWire had violated copyright law and damages are set to be decided in January 2011. CNET reported that the damages could exceed $1 billion, and that Lime Wire and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are currently in settlement negotiations.
Despite the injunction, Lime Wire will continue to try to develop a legitimate, paid version of its service. The New York Times reported that LimeWire will remain in negotiations with major companies in the recording industry to deliver a legal, subscription service for music sharing. LimeWire has been attempting to create a paid service since 2007 to no avail. Despite its failures, a LimeWire spokesperson stated that “[w]e look forward to embracing necessary changes and collaborating with the entire music industry in the future.”
In the days since the injunction was issued, alternative file-sharing programs and services on the internet have seen a spike in usage. Although LimeWire was one of the largest file-sharing program used for pirating music on the internet, there are a large variety of other file-sharing options, most notably BitTorrent clients. While the increased business is nice, LimeWire’s competitors are no doubt worried that they might be the next target of legal action by the RIAA. File-sharing on the internet is a contentious issue, and the shutdown of LimeWire may be just the first in a line of long, drawn-out legal battles between the RIAA and file-sharing software developers.
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