The latest in the ever lengthening line of court settlements with peer-to-peer file sharing networks, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Lime Wire have reached an in-court settlement of $105 million. The RIAA brought down its initial demand of $75 trillion (dubbed “absurd” by a judge, according to Lime Wire founder Mark Gordon’s attorney) to $40- $50 billion, then $1.4 billion (the legal maximum fine). Mark Gordon will now be required to disperse the payment evenly across the five largest recording companies.
“We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement following the court’s finding that both Lime Wire and its founder Mark Gorton are personally liable for copyright infringement,” said Mitch Bainwol, chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). “As the court heard during the last two weeks, Lime Wire wreaked enormous damage on the music community, helping contribute to thousands of lost jobs and fewer opportunities for aspiring artists.”