(Blurt Online) The world of illicit file-sharing just got a little colder yesterday after software company LimeWire was ordered by U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan to stop distributing its file-sharing product. LimeWire, long embattled due to its copyright violation enabling status (so to speak), had been sued four years ago by the music industry (plaintiffs included Sony, Virgin, Arista, Capitol and Warner Bros.).
According to CNN.com, the judge determined that LimeWire “intentionally encouraged direct infringement” by users of its site, and also “marketed itself to Napster users, who were known copyright infringers.”
The Lime Company posted a message from LimeWire CEO George Searle that read, in part, “As of today, we are required to stop distribution and support of LimeWire’s P2P file-sharing service as a result of a court-ordered injunction. Naturally, we’re disappointed with this turn of events. We are extremely proud of our pioneering history and have, for years, worked hard to bridge the gap between technology and content rights holders. However, at this time, we have no option but to cease further distribution and support of our software. While we have enabled open sharing and discovery for the past decade, LimeWire is mostly the product of the people who used it.
“The injunction applies only to the LimeWire product. Our company remains open for business. We remain deeply committed to working with the music industry and making the act of loving music more fulfilling for everyone – including artists, songwriters, publishers, labels, and of course music fans. Our team of technologists and music enthusiasts is creating a completely new music service that puts you back at the center of your digital music experience.”
Download fiends eagerly await the next chapter in the LimeWire story, no doubt. That noise you hear in the background? It’s the sound of millions of jonesing file-sharers beating a path to BitTorrent….
