Record Companies to Receive $105 million from LimeWire, Suit Settled

LimeWire will pay $105 million to 13 record companies for infringing copyrights according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) late Thursday.

Thirteen companies include Arista, Atlantic, BMG Music, Capitol, Elektra, Interscope, Laface, Motown, Priority, Sony BMG, UMG, Virgin and Warner Brothers.

The settlement amount is significantly less than the $1.4 billion first proposed by the plaintiffs, at $150,000 per infringing song, but it's still among the highest ever paid by a file-sharing company.

A judge had shut down LimeWire service in October 2010 after the court decided that the music-sharing site had helped users pirate licensed music, and settled a separate copyright lawsuit by music publishers back in March -- for which terms were not known publically.

Lime Wire and its founder, Mark Gorton, are happy that this case is done, according to their law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. It will finish the federal trial over copyright infringement damages.

We are pleased to have reached a large monetary settlement following the court's finding both LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton personally liable for copyright infringement, RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said in a statement.