Eight music publishers have teamed up to pursue legal action against LimeWire, which is already treading deep water after losing a significant case against the RIAA. In that case, a judge granted the file-sharing service a two-week reprieve after being found liable for copyright infringement, induced copyright infringement, and unfair competition.
Arranged by the National Music Publishers' Association, the piggyback suit names EMI, Sony, Universal, Warner, Bug, MPL, Peermusic, and the Richmond Organization as plaintiffs – four big dogs along with four independents. According to the publishers' association, the group filed suit because most publishers weren't represented in the RIAA's case.
However, given the RIAA's success, the organization is confident it has a winning case, claiming that the "knowing and deliberate infringement is massive, as is the harm" – and of course, they're seeking tremendous damages. The publishers are after $150,000 for each song shared illegally on LimeWire, which could total hundreds of millions or more.
That figure is in addition to the RIAA's damage award, which could supposedly top a billion dollars. Despite the recording industry's motion to close the service's doors, LimeWire is fighting to keep them open. The P2P company is reportedly trying to start a new paid subscription model and "publishers are absolutely a part of that solution."
https://www.techspot.com/news/39337-music-publishers-follow-the-riaas-lead-sue-limewire.html
