LIMEWIRE SHUTS DOWN?? SAY IT ISN”T SO!!!!

Last July 2001, the world was left in horror when Napster, a popular application for sharing and downloading music, shut down. Not long after, new applications were born, one of which was LimeWire. Limewire became the new center for downloading music and movies. It quickly became the world’s most installed file-sharing application. Almost everyone I knew used it! I myself use Limewire to download popular songs for easy listening, or songs that I use to teach in the classroom. It became a real money and time saver as I no longer needed to run to shops and buy a CD which only contained 1 or 2 songs I needed.

A few months ago, the Recording Industry Association of America or RIAA asked a New York District Court to shut down LimeWire. Record labels argued that the Limewire application, a Gnutella-based download client has possibly caused billion of dollars in lost revenue to the music industry. It has therefore become one of the largest threats to the industry’s revenue. Today, this request was granted by a federal judge.

“According to the injunction, LimeWire “intentionally encouraged infringement” by LimeWire users, it is used “overwhelmingly for infringement” and it knew about the “substantial infringement being committed” by its users.”

Limewire’s entire operation, including all searches, uploads and downloads was demanded to be shut down.

I actually thought for a second that maybe those who already have the application will not suffer, but once I tried opening it, I received this message:

“In January, the court will conduct a trial to determine the appropriate level of damages necessary to compensate the record companies for the billions and billions of illegal downloads that occurred through the Limewire system,” the RIAA added.”

I have to admit, I myself do not agree with piracy, but LimeWire has proven itself really useful. It saddens me to say goodbye to it. We knew this day would come soon. We can’t really complain though. It is after all only fair that those who make the music really get their job’s worth. I just wish there were some other way to easily access needed music without it being illegal and all. LimeWire may be old, but I admit it still comes in handy (even if there are already several torrent sites)

This may be the end of LimeWire, but with the growing world of cyberspace, who knows what new program or application will be made tomorrow. Torrents sites and applications are currently on the top and now fear of being RIAA’s next target.

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Here’s a more detailed article on the Limewire story:

Source: http://torrentfreak.com/limewire-loses-court-battle-with-riaa-shuts-down-101026/

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A few months ago the RIAA asked a New York District Court to shut down the world’s most installed file-sharing application, LimeWire.

The record labels argued that the Gnutella-based download client might have caused billions of dollars in lost revenue and that it’s therefore one of the largest threats to the music industry’s revenue. Today, RIAA’s request was granted by a federal judge.

According to the injunction, Limewire “intentionally encouraged infringement” by Limewire users, it is used “overwhelmingly for infringement” and it knew about the “substantial infringement being committed” by its users.

The evidence further showed that Limewire marketed its application to Napster users and that its business model depends on mass copyright infringements.

The New York District Court demanded that Limewire shuts down its entire operation, including all searches and uploading and downloading that occurs through the client. LimeWire users who start up their client will immediately notice that it is no longer usable.

The outcome of this case could potentially change the file-sharing landscape for good. Despite BitTorrent being the leading file-sharing protocol for several years already, LimeWire is most likely the most installed P2P application on the market. In 2008 LimeWire was the most installed P2P application with an impressive market-share of 37%, compared to 14% for runner-up uTorrent.

Now the RIAA has scored a victory in court against LimeWire, millions of people will have to seek an alternative download client, which might mean a significant boost in user numbers for some of the major BitTorrent applications.

On the other hand, software that’s similar to LimeWire might be affected negatively by today’s judgment. In the injunction software such as FrostWire and MP3Rocket, but also BitTorrent clients including uTorrent, Vuze and Transmission are described as “similar software”. Could one of these become the next target?

In a response to TorrentFreak, the RIAA didn’t want to speculate on future targets. Instead, we were told: “The court has now signed an injunction that will start to unwind the massive piracy machine that Limewire and Gorton used to enrich themselves immensely.”

“In January, the court will conduct a trial to determine the appropriate level of damages necessary to compensate the record companies for the billions and billions of illegal downloads that occurred through the Limewire system,” the RIAA added.

Although today’s decision is the end of Limewire as we know it, the brand is expected to reappear soon with a “non-infringing” service.

The Injunction