LimeWire guilty of copyright infringement
p2pnet view Music | P2P:- US district court judge Kimba Wood (right) says LimeWire is guilty of copyright infringement.
She ruled LimeWire >>>
(1) is aware that LimeWire’s users commit a substantial amount of copyright infringement; (2) markets LimeWire to users predisposed to committing infringement; (3) ensures that LimeWire enables infringement and assists users committing infringement; (4) relies on the fact that LimeWire enables infringement for the success of its business; and (5) has not taken meaningful steps to mitigate infringement …
Following Napster’s demise,she says >>>
LW announced that it expected thirty percent, “[w]ith possibly up to 100 percent,” of Napster users to switch to using LimeWire and similar programs, such as Kazaa and Morpheus. [...] LW developed plans to attract Napster users to LimeWire. Internal email correspondence, often involving LW’s CEO and Director Mark Gorton, reveal that LW contemplated a number of strategies to promote LimeWire to Napster users, including initiating press campaigns on college campuses relating to “file-sharing and getting free MP3′s”; hiring “campus reps” at “Napster-banned colleges”; running a “Napster Independence Day” promotion; and publicizing features of LimeWire that make “finding your favorite artist or album . . . easier.” From 2002 to 2006, LW conducted a marketing campaign “napster mp3,” “napster download,” “kazaa morpheus,” “mp3 free download,” and dozens of other phrases containing the words “napster,” “kazaa,” or “morpheus,” would see an advertisement leading them to the LimeWire website.
And >>>
From 2002 to 2006, LW conducted a marketing campaign through Google AdWords, whereby Google users who entered certain search queries, such as “replacement napster,” “napster mp3,” “napster download,” “kazaa morpheus,” “mp3 free download,” and dozens of other phrases containing the words “napster,” “kazaa,” or “morpheus,” would see an advertisement leading them to the LimeWire website. (Pl. SUF ¶ 162-167, Ex. 82.). LW’s Google advertisements promoted LimeWire with direct references to other infringementfostering programs. For example, LW purchased banner advertisements for LimeWire that read “Join Millions of Morpheus users and download the best P2P file-sharing application for free. Free music downloads . . .”; “Outperforms Morpheus!”; and “Faster Downloads Than Kazaa!”
“The evidence demonstrates that LW optimized LimeWire’s features to ensure that users can download digital recordings, the majority of which are protected by copyright, and that LW assisted users in committing infringement”, she writes, stating:
“LimeWire’s search functions are designed to facilitate searches for copyrighted digital recordings. The program’s user interface allows users to search for specific artists or albums … ”
Ex-US president Bill Clinton’s second unsuccessful nominee for attorney general in 1993, Wood made a name for herself sentencing junk bond king Michael Milken in 1990.
“Former Playboy Bunny Kimba Wood agreed yesterday not to try to send Michael Milken back to jail, provided that Milken pays $47 million which otherwise would have gone to cancer research”, says Anusha.com, continuing:
“Kimba Wood, who trained as a bunny in London’s Playboy Club but who gave up her career as a roulette croupier, along with her rabbit ears and her cotton tail, to become a federal judge, previously sentenced Milken to ten years in prison, even though she obviously did not know what Milken had done or why whatever he had done was illegal.
“Milken got out after only 22 months by agreeing to pay to the federal government some of the money he had made doing whatever it was that he did.”
Click here for the judgment.
And stay tuned.
[I originally led off with the fact Wood had been a Playboy bunny. But it was strongly suggested to me in an email this might have been interpreted as "mostly an attempt to dismiss a judge's opinion because she was once a Playboy bunny". It's "not salient to the case or the soundness of her reasoning in any way and could be seen by some as being derogatory towards women", said the email. That wasn't my intention, and I hope it wasn't seen in that light. But to be sure, I changed the headline and removed the initial 'bunny' reference.]
Jon Newton – p2pnet
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Anusha.com – Playboy Bunny lets Michael Milken off the Hook Provided He Pays $47 Million
May, 2010
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May 12th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
1. Considering that the U.S. is the pretty much the home turf of the RIAA/their bought-and-sold puppets in (what passes for) government, this was so blatantly, obviously certain beforehand, that the outcome doesn’t really constitute “news”.
What *would* be newsworthy, is if these fucking vermin would:
1. Acknowledge that copy”right” is *merely* a TEMPORARY monopoly privilege granted by the State, for a specific purpose.
NOT an end in itself, and *goddamn sure* not the “sacred right of property” (Yes, Mr. Roach — I remember!.)
2. Actually admit that — as a “means to an end” — fostering innovation and creativity — copy”right” has failed miserably, and — ESPECIALLY in it’s current form — basically enshrines the very principle of “dead-hand control” that *even it’s apologists* don’t want.
3. Either reform the fucking, cancerous travesty — say, drastically scaling back the length of monopolization (oops, I mean “protection”), to something a little less absurd — a single 5 year term, maybe.
OR — better yet — CORRECT the centuries-old mistake known as the “Statute of Anne”, by DOING AWAY with the cancer of “copyright” entirely.
(The best way to actually “protect” the public domain, is to ensure that it continues to exist. The State *permitted* monopoly privileges like copy”right” in the first place, and — assuming that they’re *really* not just the corporate lickspittles they so obviously are — would best serve us all, by simply *admitting* their mistake, and abolishing such monopolies in total.
If doing so inconveniences whiny, multimillionaire dickheads like Lars Ulrich/Bono/Billy Bragg, well….let’s just call that a “perk”
May 13th, 2010 at 4:49 am
I think p2p developers can learn a lot from this development. Developers in the US need to outsource the search function to 3rd party plugins that are downloaded separately from the program or create an OPTIONAL filtering plugin to show that they are taking steps to mitigate infringement. If the users choose not to install the plugin, it is not the developers fault. This will prevent a court from ruling that you promote infringement through an overly robust search functions.
Advertisers need to be careful not to use the names of companies/programs that have already been found guilty of infringement.
All internal emails should be self-censored and not kept on third party servers so they can avoid anonymous subpoena. It is probably best to use point to point communication methods such as ScatterChat.
I think that these steps should make a company immune to promoting infringement complaints.
May 13th, 2010 at 4:53 am
Oh, and tech support should NEVER help any user download a SPECIFIC file. If a user asks about a specific file, any specific file, the tech support session should immediately end with a courteous “I’m sorry I cannot help you find a specific file, if you continue having problems connecting to the network you may open a new support session.”
May 13th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Whilst this is a blow to Limewire it was fully expected and clear to all who have taken note of previous judgments.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Yeap, Limewire knew what they were doing. They knew they had a 10 years windows before legal action could close their business. In the meantime they made a ton of money. Good for them. That’s the american dream.
Who’s next ?
May 13th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I still claim that the save as option of browser promotes more copyright infringement in a day than all p2p software in a month. I see no one going after Microsoft and the rest of the browse makers.
Anyway the rather useless copyright registration system makes it impossible to determine what is still copyright protected and what is in the public domain. Therefore no copying should be penalized, until all copying is prohibited. Lets do it, for clarity’s sake. Heil Hitler.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Some interesting tabloid fodder on this Judge, former Playboy bunny and *adulteress* Kimba Wood:
“Manhattan Federal Court Judge Kimba Wood sued for divorce yesterday, formally scrapping a 14-year marriage less than a year after her love affair with a Wall Street millionaire was revealed in his private diaries.
Wood’s breakup with husband Michael Kramer, a Time magazine political columnist, was expected, but the couple’s efforts to work out the terms of their split privately apparently ended in rancor over money.
Wood, 52, is seeking the divorce on grounds of constructive abandonment, meaning her husband has refused to have sex with her … ”
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1996/05/22/1996-05-22_kimba_wood_rather_be_divorced.html
May 18th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
This wangs chung. This in all cases better not be the end of P2P software. I had limewire in its early days. Hate to see it go.
May 28th, 2010 at 4:49 am
I don’t see how limewire is any different than google.com or itunes.com or youtube.com or any other of these search engines where you type something in and download a video or song… they all are the same really, they all know the infringement is happening