Grokster announces plans to shutdown its peer-to-peer file network
UPI News Service, 11/07/2005
Grokster Monday announced it was shutting down its peer-to-peer network, settling its 3-year-old piracy case with the U.S. entertainment industry.
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The settlement announced in Washington Monday also includes a permanent injunction prohibiting any infringement of copyrighted works belonging to record companies, film studios or music publishers, Billboard.com reported.
Grokster also agreed to immediately stop distributing its software and halt the operation of its system and any existing software. It will also pay $50 million in damages to the plaintiff companies, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America said.
The settlement came just four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of MGM in its suit, MGM vs. Grokster, Billboard noted.
RIAA Chairman Mitch Bainwol said the settlement ends "an incredibly significant chapter in the story of digital music."
Visitors to Grokster's Web site Monday saw a warning saying the Supreme Court "unanimously confirmed that using this service to trade copyrighted material is illegal."
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