US judge Kimba Wood ruled that record companies "have suffered — and will continue to suffer — irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works", adding that the potential damages were "staggering".
The court also ruled that LimeWire should "use all reasonable technological means to immediately cease and desist" copyright infringements still taking place through applications already downloaded. Yesterday's court order comes after a four-year legal battle between LimeWire and the Recording Industry Association of America , the representative body for many of the world's largest record labels.
In May, Wood found LimeWire liable for widespread copyright infringement. File-sharing software company Limewire has reached an out of court settlement with record labels that sued it for helping people pirate music. The prolonged legal fight has led to Limewire being shut down. Mitch Bainwol, chairman of the RIAA - which represents record labels - said the organisation was pleased with the result.
Limewire was a program that used peer-to-peer technology to help people find media on other computers and let others see their libraries of files.
Still, the company continued to operate its file-sharing program until shortly after the October injunction. It is still facing legal action by others, including a recently-filed lawsuit brought by Alki David and more than a dozen hip hop artists.
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. A copy of the ruling was not immediately available on the public court docket. In a statement, Lime Wire expressed disappointment at the ruling. Lime Wire said the injunction lets it continue testing a service that allows users to buy music from independent labels. The company said it hopes to negotiate agreements with the entire music industry ahead of a full launch.
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