Update: The judge provided LimeWire with two weeks to respond to the RIAA’s motion for a permanent injunction shuttering the file-sharing service.
New York
– The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Friday asked a
federal judge for a permanent injunction that would shut down the LimeWire
file-sharing service, and a court hearing scheduled for Monday could decide the
service’s fate, according to published reports. A federal court last month
granted summary judgment in the labels’ copyright infringement lawsuit against
LimeWire and its founder, Mark Groton.
"Every day that Lime Wire’s conduct
continues unabated guarantees harm to plaintiffs that money damages cannot and
will not compensate," RIAA lawyers wrote to U.S. District Judge Kimba
Wood. "The scope of the infringements that Lime Wire induced…boggles the
mind."
The RIAA also fears that Gorton is shifting his assets in a bid to
make it harder for the group to recover damages.
"Lime Wire has attempted
to secrete assets into Mark Gorton-controlled ‘family partnerships’ with the
intention of shielding those assets from a judgment award in this case,"
the group wrote, to Judge Wood.
"We are looking forward to an opportunity
to address the Court for the first time in two years and show that as a matter
of fact and law there is no support for this motion," a LimeWire
spokesperson told CNET News.com.
LimeWire has in recent weeks been working to
apply a filter that would block copyrighted works, as well as talk to labels on
potential licensing deals, in a bid to continue operating the service despite
the court’s ruling.
Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20006900-261.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20006879-261.html
http://snipurl.com/x6xbq
(DMW previous coverage)
