infoJustice

A group of musicians led by Alki David, founder of the streaming service FilmOn.com, has sued CNET and its parent company, CBS Interactive, for distributing LimeWire and other peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems.  The lawsuit, filed May 3, claims that “The CBS defendants have been the main distributor of LimeWire software and have promoted this and other P2P systems in order to directly profit from wide-scale copyright infringement.  Internet users have downloaded more than 220 million copies of LimeWire software from the CBS defendants’ website, found at download.com since 2008.  This consisted 95 percent or more of all copies of LimeWire that were downloaded until LimeWire was shut down by Court Order.”

The lawsuit also describes how CBS monetized the the distribution of free P2P software and how CNET featured instructional articles that helped internet users infringe copyrights. 

David invites other content owners to join the class action lawsuit in a 20 minute video on his “CBSyousuck” website.

In a press statement, CBS Interactive released a dismissive statement on the case: “CBS and a host of other media companies were awarded a court ordered injunction against one of Alki David’s companies last year with respect to that company’s improper use of copyrighted content,” says the statement. ” His lawsuit against CBS affiliates is riddled with inaccuracies, and we are confident that we will prevail, just as we did in the injunction hearing involving his company.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLAINT

Some of the reporting on this case

• Eriq Gardner for the Hollywood Reporter. CBS Hit With Major Lawsuit for Contributing to Piracy.
• Chloe Albanesius for PC World. CBS, CNET Sued for Copyright Infringement Over LimeWire Distribution.
• David Kravets for Wired. CNET Accused of Copyright Infringement for Distributing LimeWire.