LimeWire may have already shut down, but it is still fighting several legal battles in relation to how much in damages LimeWire will have to pay out. But LimeWire has just settled one of these cases.
The settlement involves major music publishers, EMI, Warner Bros., Universal, Sony and others. Details of the settlement it unknown, with the only detail being that both side will each pay their own legal costs (so, at the very least, the publishers did not demand LimeWire to pay cost).
However, many of the same companies are still suing LimeWire, for up to $1b, but they are suing as "copyright owners" (not publishers). Copyright owners hold the copyright on the songs, while the publishers hold the copyright on particular recordings of the songs.
This other case still continues to be fought, and LimeWire has even subpoenaed internal emails from companies that have made deals with the record industry, companies like Apple and Google, to see how these licensing deals were set up. One interesting conclusion that LimeWire has drawn from these emails is that unauthorized downloads may actually increase sales, and that sales went down dramatically when LimeWire was actually forced to shut down due to a temporary injunction.
The battle continues with a May court date, that is if LimeWire do not settle before then.
Do you think LimeWire has a point, that unauthorized downloads actually help encourage purchases? Post your opinion in this article's comments section, or in this forum thread:
http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=94631
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