RIAA sues Kazaa, Grokster and LimeWire users

06/30/05 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, June 30 (newratings.com) – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents the US recording industry, has filed legal complaints against 784 file-sharers who used Kazaa, Grokster and LimeWire networks for alleged violation of copyrights.

Recently, the US Supreme Court ruled that file-sharing networks, such as Grokster, may be held responsible for copyright infringement if they encourage people to download unauthorized copies of copyrighted songs, films or other content through P2P (peer-to-peer) networks. The victory of MGM against Grokster in the file-sharing lawsuit has given enough confidence to the music and film industry to file innumerable lawsuits against file-sharing networks. Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of RIAA said that the US Supreme Court's ruling has been "a shot in the arm" in the fight against illegal file-sharing.