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LimeWire to Pay Labels $105 Million to Settle Copyright Suit


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File-sharing service LimeWire will pay $105 million to settle copyright infringement claims from the four major record labels, avoiding the $1.4 billion in damages award the labels had been seeking in court proceedings. A federal judge last year found LimeWire and founder Mark Gorton guilty of copyright infringement and ordered the service shut down; a separate trial heard over the past two weeks intended to determine the amount of damages Gorton and the company would pay.

 

"The significant settlement underscores the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in the Grokster case -- designing and operating services to profit from the theft of the world's greatest music comes with a stiff price," Mitch Bainwol, chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), said in a statement.

 

"The resolution of this case is another milestone in the continuing evolution of online music to a legitimate marketplace that appropriately rewards creators."

 

LimeWire attorney Joseph Baio noted that the settlement amount was far less than what the labels had initially sought.

 

"In the recent past, the plaintiffs have pressed for a $75 trillion verdict. The Court labeled that claim 'absurd.' Plaintiffs then claimed that they suffered $40 to $50 billion of damages and that Lime Wire was responsible for it all. At other times they have claimed that the amount of damages exceeded $1.4 billion," Baio told CNET.

 

Source: Mark Hefflinger

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