Federal Court Injunction Shuts Down LimeWire File-sharing

NEW YORK — Lime Group has disabled the file-sharing and music-searching features of its peer-to-peer file sharing service LimeWire following a court-ordered injunction issued yesterday by the U.S. District Court.

The service remains unavailable today, with a legal notice posted on its homepage that reads, “This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software. Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal."

The injunction mandates Lime Group to disable the P2P software’s downloading, uploading, file trading and distribution features, effective immediately.

The privately owned company and its founder, Mark Gorton, have been battling with the Recording Industry Association of America in court for four years.

In May, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood agreed with 13 plaintiff record companies that LimeWire's parent and its founder Mark Gorton didn't offer any supervisory control with their peer-to-peer software and were found liable for committing and inducing infringement and engaging in unfair competition.

According to reports, LimeWire’s digital music store will remain available and the company says it plans to roll out a new software that will include a desktop media player, mobile apps and a catalog of music that users can stream and download — and, most importantly, adheres to copyright laws.

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