LimeWire in $105m filesharing settlement

LimeWire has agreed to pay the record industry a $105m (£64m) settlement, ending its five-year legal battle over illegal filesharing.

The company agreed an out-of-court deal with 13 record companies, including imprints owned by the four major labels, just days after a trial began to decide damages in a high-profile piracy case.

Last October, LimeWire was shut down after a court ruled in favour of the record industry, which claims that the site is responsible for $1bn in lost sales.

Limewire was the last peer-to-peer filesharing network still in operation, after rival sites Grokster, Kazaa, eDonkey and Napster all shut down following pressure from the music industry.

Lawyers representing Mark Gorton, the former Wall Street trader who set up LimeWire in 2000, said that he was "pleased that this case has concluded". The payout follows a $115m settlement paid by Kazaa in 2006.

Mitch Bainwol, the chief executive of US music trade body the RIAA, welcomed the settlement and said that LimeWire "wreaked enormous damage" on the music industry.

"We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement following the court's finding that both LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton are personally liable for copyright infringement," said Bainwol.

"As the court heard during the last two weeks, LimeWire wreaked enormous damage on the music community, helping contribute to thousands of lost jobs and fewer opportunities for aspiring artists."

Bainwol said that LimeWire's settlement - along with the US Supreme Court's verdict in 2005 forcing Grokster to pay $50m to the labels - shows that "designing and operating services to profit from the theft of the world's greatest music comes with a stiff price".

He added: "The resolution of this case is another milestone in the continuing evolution of online music to a legitimate marketplace that appropriately rewards creators.

"This hard fought victory is reason for celebration by the entire music community, its fans and the legal services that play by the rules."