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Lime Wire, the company that helped people obtain perhaps billions of songs illegally, is close to forking over a "significant" amount of money to settle a copyright suit filed against it by the Recording Industry Association of America, sources close to the discussions told CNET.
Lime Wire founder Mark Gorton leaves U.S District Court in Manhattan Wednesday.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET)
The two sides were still negotiating this morning, but a deal could be finalized as soon as today, the sources said. They didn't specify the exact settlement figure and cautioned that the talks could still break down.
Should a deal be finalized, it would put an end to a 5-year-old copyright case and close the book on Lime Wire, the company behind the peer-to-peer system of the same name that the big four record companies alleged cost them billions of dollars and thousands of employees their jobs.
After a U.S. District Judge found Lime Wire and founder Mark Gorton personally liable for copyright infringement and ordered the company to cease operations, the case then moved to assessing damages. Over the past two weeks, a jury in Manhattan was hearing evidence in the case as they determined what amount Lime Wire and Gorton would have to pay. If they found he deserved to pay the maximum under the law, Gorton could be required to pay as much as $1.4 billion.
Ethan Smith at The Wall Street Journal reported that the sides have held three settlement meetings without securing a deal. The talks began in earnest yesterday, said the sources who spoke with CNET.
Gorton was in a precarious legal position.The jury tasked with assessing damages was often reminded by Glenn Pomerantz, the RIAA's lead attorney, that Gorton had already been found liable of willful copyright infringement by U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood.
Anticipating how a jury may react is hard to do, but on Monday, they heard Gorton acknowledge while on the witness stand that he's long known that a large majority of LimeWire users pirated music via the P2P service. Gorton said he saw most of his biggest competitors cease operating or try to legitimize their businesses after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against file-sharing operations like Lime Wire's.He conceded that he chose to continue operating despite the court's decision and the RIAA has shown that he pocketed profits as a result.
Gorton's interview appeared to be a big win for the labels and he was scheduled to testify again when the hearing was postponed so the parties could try and reach an agreement.
More to come...
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Lime Wire founder Mark Gorton leaves U.S District Court in Manhattan Wednesday. (Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET)
The two sides were still negotiating this morning, but a deal could be finalized as soon as today, the sources said. They didn't specify the exact settlement figure and cautioned that the talks could still break down.
Should a deal be finalized, it would put an end to a 5-year-old copyright case and close the book on Lime Wire, the company behind the peer-to-peer system of the same name that the big four record companies alleged cost them billions of dollars and thousands of employees their jobs.
After a U.S. District Judge found Lime Wire and founder Mark Gorton personally liable for copyright infringement and ordered the company to cease operations, the case then moved to assessing damages. Over the past two weeks, a jury in Manhattan was hearing evidence in the case as they determined what amount Lime Wire and Gorton would have to pay. If they found he deserved to pay the maximum under the law, Gorton could be required to pay as much as $1.4 billion.
Ethan Smith at The Wall Street Journal reported that the sides have held three settlement meetings without securing a deal. The talks began in earnest yesterday, said the sources who spoke with CNET.
Gorton was in a precarious legal position.The jury tasked with assessing damages was often reminded by Glenn Pomerantz, the RIAA's lead attorney, that Gorton had already been found liable of willful copyright infringement by U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood.
Anticipating how a jury may react is hard to do, but on Monday, they heard Gorton acknowledge while on the witness stand that he's long known that a large majority of LimeWire users pirated music via the P2P service. Gorton said he saw most of his biggest competitors cease operating or try to legitimize their businesses after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against file-sharing operations like Lime Wire's.He conceded that he chose to continue operating despite the court's decision and the RIAA has shown that he pocketed profits as a result.
Gorton's interview appeared to be a big win for the labels and he was scheduled to testify again when the hearing was postponed so the parties could try and reach an agreement.
More to come...
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