As most of our readers will know, LimeWire was once one of the most used file sharing clients in the world. A few months ago it was forced to cease its operations following an ongoing battle with the entertainment industry. In regard to damages being imposed on LimeWire they have stated that discovery has shown that the entertainment industry has made a profit from file sharing.
Several studios were granted damages for secondary copyright infringement by a federal court in May last year and discovery was ordered by Judge Debra freeman to determine the amount of damages. In February this year, Judge kimba Wood called for the studies to produce further documents to LimeWire which may result in greater support for their assertion.
LimeWire made the request for further information as they claimed Freemans order "indicated (1) that Plaintiffs were attempting to 'blacklist' LimeWire; (2) that certain employees of Plaintiffs had exoressed a desire to work with LimeWire; and (3) that Plaintiffs believed user downloads through LimeWire had actually increased Plaintiffs' revenue"
The order was expanded but the studios stated that to do so would breach attorney-client priviledge. Wood then limited discovery to documents not covered by this priviledge. She then stated it was "reasonable and appropriate" for studios to "minimize the exposure to copyright infringment". Wood also reversed an order by Freeman no longer forcing non parties MySpace, Yahoo! and iMesh to provide discovery.
The trial to determine the final damages will be held on May 2nd 2011.
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