Volume IV

Issue : 15: September 21, 2006

• China Using Software to Standardize Criminal Sentencing
• Universal Music Targets User Generated Media Sites
• eDonkey Settles With Recording Industry
• Pretext Calls Commonly Used to Obtain Personal and Corporate Data
• U.S. Senate Approves $90M for Media Violence Study
• Executives of Online Gaming Companies Risk Arrest in USA
• Court Rules Retailers Website Must Be Accessible to the Blind

Home > Volume IV > Issue 15: September 21, 2006 > eDonkey Settles With Recording Industry

eDonkey Settles With Recording Industry

The owners and operators of eDonkey (a popular peer-to-peer file sharing network) have settled with the recording industry in order to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit. Last fall, the recording industry informed several technology firms (including Grokster and Kazaa) that they would be sued if they did not shut down operations; various firms (now including the one behind eDonkey) have decided to settle rather than face legal action.

MetaMachine Inc., the eDonkey provider, has agreed to cease distributing the various version of eDonkey, to take measures to prevent illegal file sharing by individuals who have already downloaded the software, and to pay $30 million to the recording industry. The settlement agreement is subject to final approval by a federal judge.

It is not clear whether the settlement will have a significant impact on file sharing; many individuals already have the eDonkey software (or an open source version known as eMule), and the P2P networks used by the eDonkey community are largely outside of MetaMachine’s control.

For additional information, visit:

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/15501678.htm