Industry News

As had been rumored, multiple record labels on Thursday settled their copyright lawsuit against Lime Wire LLC and its founder, Mark Gorton out of court for $105 million, according to a statement from the RIAA.
 
"We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement following the court's finding that both LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton personally liable for copyright infringement," RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said in the statement. "As the court heard during the last two weeks, LimeWire wreaked enormous damage on the music community, helping contribute to thousands of lost jobs and fewer opportunities for aspiring artists. 
 
"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."

The record labels involved in the suit include Arista, Atlantic, BMG Music, Capital, Elektra, Interscope, Laface, Motown, Priority, Sony, Universal, Virgin and Warner Brothers; in March, LimeWire settled with music publishers that had sued it.

During the trial, the labels sought hundreds of millions of dollars from Lime Wire and Gorton, claiming the two induced the infringement of copyrights on thousands of songs. Wood ordered Lime Wire to shut down its music service last year; a study in March showed that music piracy dropped in the wake of LimeWire's closure.