This could be an interesting test case for the Grokster inducement standard.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/04/D8J9PFS00.html
Music Industry Sues LimeWire
Aug 04 2:53 PM US/Eastern
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By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES
A coalition of major recording companies sued the operators of the file-sharing
program LimeWire for copyright infringement Friday, claiming the firm
encourages users to trade music without permission.
New York-based Lime Group LLC, its subsidiaries who designed and distribute
LimeWire, and the corporation's top executives, are named in the federal court
lawsuit, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, the Recording
Industry Association of America said in a statement.
Record labels owned by Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Vivendi's Universal Music
Group, Warner Music Group and Britain's EMI Music are behind the complaint,
which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, including at least $150,000 for
each instance in which a copyright song was distributed without permission.
The case is the first piracy lawsuit brought against a distributor of
file-sharing software since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that
technology companies could be sued for copyright infringement on the grounds
that they encouraged customers to steal music and movies over the Internet.
In the complaint, the record companies contend LimeWire's operators are
"actively facilitating, encouraging and enticing" computer users to steal music
by failing to block access to copyright works and building a business model that
allows them to profit directly from piracy.
"Defendants not only have known of the infringement, but have promoted and
relied upon it to build their business," the complaint states.
Like similar programs, LimeWire allows computer users to make files on their PCs
available to a multitude of other people all connected to each other, a method
known as peer-to-peer file-sharing.
The original Napster software first popularized such swapping of files online
before it was forced to shut down in 2001 after record companies sued.
In the LimeWire complaint, the record companies contend that LimeWire, which
began operating in 2000, has since grown into the leading file- sharing
software for stealing music as other Napster clones have shut down or gone
legitimate in recent years.
A LimeWire spokeswoman, Katie Catillaz, declined comment Friday.
Last fall, LimeWire was among several file-sharing services to receive letters
from the Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major
record labels, warning them to shut down or face litigation.
The RIAA said LimeWire's operators did not show sufficient interest in
developing a licensed business model or agree to shut down.
"While other services have come productively to the table, LimeWire has sat back
and continued to reap profits on the backs of the music community," the trade
group said. "That is unfortunate and has left us no choice but to file a
lawsuit to protect the rights and livelihoods of artists, songwriters and
record label employees, as well as those companies building legitimate
businesses based on music."
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