grokster

Lime Wire's day of reckoning is here

Mark Gorton and Lime Wire pocketed millions by enabling people to obtain songs online without paying for them. Now, Gorton and his company could end up paying damages of over $1 billion.

In a New York federal court this week, the four largest record companies will try to prove that it was Gorton's own greed that drove him to continue operating Lime Wire, the company behind the highly popular file-sharing service LimeWire, though they warned him years ago to stop and fellow peer-to-peer operators advised him to cut a deal. Gorton continued to defy the top labels even after … Read more

Tech champion, watchdog heads to Google

Fred von Lohmann, likely the technology's sector most recognized legal advocate, has called it quits as senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

One of Grokster's lead attorneys in the landmark MGM v. Grokster case, von Lohmann confirmed he is leaving EFF to take a job as Google's senior copyright counsel. In an e-mail Wednesday, von Lohmann declined to comment further.

If you're a fan of unimpeded innovation, the free distribution of content over the Web, and Internet users' right to privacy then you should take your hat off to von Lohmann. The way his … Read more

If LimeWire builds legal site, will labels come?

Lime Wire managers have plans to transform the nation's largest file-sharing network into a legal music service, company representatives told CNET.

"It will have unrestricted downloading and streaming," a spokeswoman said in a statement. "It will be easy-to-use and easy to pay for. It will allow consumers to better discover music through advanced search tools, find more recommendations, and have access to millions of songs on-demand."

The only thing that might be missing from a new LimeWire music store is, well, music--or at least tracks from the four largest record companies. At this point, the … Read more

Did EFF lawyer cross line in LimeWire case?

The lawyers who do most of the jousting over Internet copyright issues were abuzz last week after learning that a federal court judge suggested one of the more prominent among them had advised clients to destroy evidence.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood issued a 59-page decision in Manhattan granting summary judgment in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America in its long-running copyright fight against file-sharing service LimeWire. The order opened the door for the top four record companies to force a closure of the service.

In addressing an issue of whether statements made by … Read more

Legal experts: LimeWire likely doomed

A federal court judge has likely dealt a death blow to LimeWire, one of the most popular and oldest file-sharing systems, according to legal experts.

On Wednesday, CNET broke the news that U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood granted summary judgment in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which filed a copyright lawsuit against LimeWire in 2006. In her decision, Wood ruled Lime Group, parent of LimeWire software maker Lime Wire, and founder Mark Gorton committed copyright infringement, induced copyright infringement, and engaged in unfair competition.

"It is obviously a fairly fatal decision for them," … Read more

Pirate Bay co-founder denies MPAA allegations

Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, a Pirate Bay co-founder who has long been the service's spokesman, reacted to the latest lawsuit filed by the movie industry in his typically defiant way.

He called it "bull****."

On Tuesday, the Motion Picture Association of America filed legal papers in a Swedish court that alleged the three operators: Kolmisoppi, Fredrik Neij, and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg continue to help millions of people commit copyright infringement, even after being sentenced to jail and ordered to pay $3.6 million in damages. In their legal filing, the studios have asked authorities to stop the trio. … Read more

Former Grokster exec pulls out of Pirate Bay acquisition

Wayne Rosso, the former president of Grokster, has walked away from Global Gaming Factory because of "strong doubts" the Swedish company has enough funds to acquire The Pirate Bay.

Global Gaming, a Swedish software company, made big news last month by announcing plans to acquire The Pirate Bay for $7.8 million. Hans Pandeya, Global Gaming's CEO, then hired Rosso to negotiate legal music and film licensing deals on the company's behalf.

Rosso had spoken to executives from the top four major labels as well the music industry's worldwide trade group about The Pirate Bay, … Read more

Pirate Bay exec no longer compares RIAA to Stalin

As The Pirate Bay apparently goes legit, the Swedish file-sharing company has hired someone with experience in both legal and illegal file-sharing sites.

Global Gaming Factory, the Swedish software company vying to buy The Pirate Bay, has hired Wayne Rosso, the very vocal former president of Grokster and founder of Mashboxx, to help strike licensing deals with content owners. Global Gaming announced earlier this month that the company intends to pay $7.8 million for The Pirate Bay once investors okay the deal.

In an interview with CNET News on Wednesday, Rosso detailed some of what he's been up … Read more