LimeWire

Not to be confused with LiveWire or Lifewire.

LimeWire
Developer(s)Lime Wire LLC
Initial releaseMay 3, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-05-03)
Final release
5.5.16 Edit this on Wikidata / 26 October 2010; 14 years ago (26 October 2010)
Preview release
5.6.1 Edit this on Wikidata / 7 May 2010; 14 years ago (7 May 2010)
Written inJava
PlatformJava SE
Available in32 languages[citation needed]
TypePeer-to-peer file sharing
LicenseGPL-2.0-or-later

LimeWire was a free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris.[1] Created by Mark Gorton[2][3][4] in 2000, it was most prominently a tool used for the download and distribution of pirated materials, particularly pirated music.[5] In 2007, LimeWire was estimated to be installed on over one-third of all computers globally.[6]

Both a zero-cost version and a purchasable "enhanced" version called LimeWire Pro were available; however, LimeWire Pro could be acquired for free through the standard LimeWire software, where users distributed it without authorization. LimeWire uses the gnutella network as well as the BitTorrent protocol.[7]

On October 26, 2010, U.S. federal court judge Kimba Wood issued an injunction ordering Lime Wire LLC to prevent "the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality" of its software in Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC.[8][9] A trial investigating the damages necessary to compensate the affected record labels was scheduled to begin in January 2011.[10] As a result of the injunction, the RIAA initially suggested that LimeWire was responsible for $72 trillion in damages, before eventually settling for $105 million.[11][12] Thereafter, the company stopped distributing the LimeWire software, and versions 5.5.11 and newer have been disabled using a backdoor installed by the company. However, version 5.5.10 and all prior versions of LimeWire remain fully functional and cannot be disabled unless a user upgrades to one of the newer versions.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Downloads".
  2. ^ Plambeck, Joseph (May 23, 2010). "Idea Man of LimeWire at a Crossroads". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "What was Limewire? Here's its fascinating story". slidebean.com. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  4. ^ McIntyre, Hugh. "The Piracy Sites That Nearly Destroyed The Music Industry: What Happened To Limewire". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Sandoval, Greg. "Study: LimeWire demise slows music piracy". CNET. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Zahn, Jennifer. "The life and death of LimeWire". Marquette Wire. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "Features".
  8. ^ Halliday, Josh (October 27, 2010). "LimeWire shut down by federal court". The Guardian. London.
  9. ^ Gonsalves, Antone (October 27, 2010). "LimeWire Ordered To Shut Down – File Sharing Sites". InformationWeek. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  10. ^ Bangeman, Eric (October 26, 2010). "Sour ruling for LimeWire as court says to turn off P2P functionality". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  11. ^ "The RIAA Claimed LimeWire Owed Them 72 TRILLION Dollars". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022.
  12. ^ "Lime Wire settles with RIAA for $105 million".
  13. ^ Hachman, Mark (October 28, 2010). "'Anonymous' Plans DDoS Attack on RIAA on Friday". PC Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  14. ^ Hachman, Mark (October 26, 2010). "Lime Wire Turns Off Limewire P2P Service". PC Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2010.