One of the last remaining reliable file sharing program has been permanently shut down thanks to a court injunction. LimeWire has stopped distributing its software on its website as visitors are greeted by the following message:
"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."
LimeWire’s battle with the law started four years ago when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed an infringement lawsuit on behalf of the eight major music publishers in the United States. In May 2010, Judge Kimba Wood found LimeWire liable and the RIAA made two separate motions – permanent shutdown of LimeWire and freezing of the company’s assets. As of yesterday, they have succeeded in the former, the latter is yet to be determined as the case resumes on January, 2011. LimeWire may have to end up paying as much as $1 billion in damages, if not more.
Meanwhile an instant buzz for alternatives to LimeWire have become prominent online. A list can be found here. Although, with the rapid advancement of broadband networks, I don’t see p2p programs sticking around in the distant future. I, myself, like many others I am sure, rely on torrents and direct downloads for file sharing needs.
In any case, LimeWire joins my own personal list of ex-file-sharing-programs which includes the illustrious pioneer Napster, the tedious IMesh, the notorious KaZaa and it’s illegitimate step brother K-Lite.
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