Judge Dismisses LimeWire Antitrust Suit

From Alex Veiga, AP:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge on Monday threw out an antitrust lawsuit that the operator of the LimeWire online file-sharing service filed against a coalition of major record labels.

U.S. District Judge Gerard E. Lynch in New York ruled that Lime Group LLC failed to make its case that it has been harmed by the recording companies' business practices, and he granted the companies' motion to dismiss the claims.

Lynch also dismissed several claims brought under state laws "without prejudice," which gives New York-based Lime Group the option to pursue the claims in state court.

In his 45-page ruling, Lynch wrote that the vast majority of Lime Group's claims "fail to allege an adverse effect on competition market-wide."

LimeWire allows computer users to make files on their PCs available to a multitude of other computer users all connected to each other, a method known as peer-to-peer file-sharing.

Lime Group had claimed the record labels sought to monopolize the online distribution of music and refused to license their works to the company in an effort to put it out of business.

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