NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — P2P software maker LimeWire LLC says that it is still looking to arrive at a settlement with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as a federal court prepares to shutter the company for facilitating copyright infringement.
A federal judge ruled against LimeWire last month, agreeing with the RIAA's contention that LimeWire had engaged in "purposeful conduct that fostered infringement, with the intent to foster such infringement." Following this ruling, the RIAA filed a separate motion, which is currently under consideration, that asked the court to shut down LimeWire as it is a tool that is used "overwhelmingly for infringement," and allows said infringement to take place on a "massive scale".
The RIAA also asked that the judge freeze all of the assets of Lime Group LLC, Lime Wire LLC, and the program's creator Mark Gorton, claiming that the defendants may be exposed to as much as $1 billion in statutory liability in the case.
According to ComputerWorld, LimeWire said that at this stage in the legal process, "any predictions on damages are purely speculative." LimeWire has been "actively engaged" in seeking a way to reach a settlement with the RIAA and to "move forward with a new way of working together that benefits all parties involved."
LimeWire appears poised to join a growing list of file sharing services that were effectively pursued by the RIAA, including the original Napster, which was shuttered by injunction in July of 2001 and the file sharing service Grokster, which was also shut down via injunction on November 7, 2005. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
