The company behind P2P network Bearshare have reached a settlement with the Recording Industry Association Of America bringing to an end copyright violation litigation that began in the wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling against Grokster. The $30 million settlement has been reached between the RIAA and Bearshare's parent company Free Peers Inc and its principal owners Vincent Falco and Louis Tatta.
Free Peers have also announced they are selling the Bearshare name and selected assets to MusicLab, a subsidiary of iMesh, the former illegal P2P company that is now developing a legitimate RIAA-approved file sharing service. Confirming that deal, iMesh chairman Robert Summer said yesterday: "iMesh is committed to transitioning the compelling experience of P2P to an authorised marketplace. Our strategy includes expansion through acquisition and the purchase of assets".
Bearshare was one of a number of P2P networks put on the RIAA's target list after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the MGM v Grokster case which, as previously reported at length, ruled technology companies who make P2P software could be held liable for the copyright violation their products enabled, even though they themselves weren't illegally distributing copyrighted content. That ruling meant companies like Free Peers could no longer rely on the so called Betamax defence which said technology companies could avoid liability for the illegal use of their software providing it also had legitimate uses.
Since the Grokster ruling several other US based P2P companies have either settled with the RIAA, or gone out of business. Litigation rumbles on with others - including Kazaa, Limewire and eDonkey.
Commenting on the latest settlement, the RIAA's chief legal man Steven Marks, told reporters: "The [Supreme] Court's decision helped pave the way for this transformation of the digital music marketplace. This is another important step in that evolution."