The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is reportedly seeking millions of pounds in damages from file-sharing company LimeWire as their long-running legal dispute is finally resolved.
The RIAA officially won their case against LimeWire earlier this year, after a legal battle over copyright infringement that has lasted four, very expensive, years. The court ruled that LimeWire’s owners were personally liable for knowingly breaching copyright.
After four long years of shelling out on litigation costs, LimeWire is now bracing itself for further financial trouble as the courts calculate the amount in damages owed to RIAA. This will be quantified by factors such as the number of times the free LimeWire peer-to-peer software has been downloaded by users and the amount of infringing material distributed.
Although an official figure has not yet been released, it has been estimated that LimeWire may be facing an astronomical bill of up to $150,000 for every infringing file, of which there are literally millions. Unless they have spectacular professional indemnity coverage in place, this fee alongside RIAA’s injunction to shut the service down may well mean the end for LimeWire.