RIAA: Lime Wire hid cash to avoid paying damages

Lime Wire founder Mark Gorton during the past decade made millions of dollars helping people share billions of pirated songs. Now, the big record labels claim in legal filings that Gorton has maneuvered to prevent the court from seizing his gains.

In court papers last week, the Recording Industry Association of America once again asked the court to freeze Lime Wire's and Gorton's assets. The trade group for the four largest record companies alleged in a copyright complaint filed in 2006 that Gorton had for five years placed his assets in a trust that he, his wife, and two children control in an attempt to put the money out of reach of any court.

In May, the top labels triumphed in the case when U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood granted summary judgment for the RIAA. Wood found that Gorton and LimeGroup, the parent company of Lime Wire, which makes the LimeWire software, were liable for inducing copyright infringement. Lime Wire is the largest file-sharing service and has been nearly synonymous with pirated music for many years. The RIAA noted that records show that in 2006, while music artists were paid nothing for songs acquired through Lime Wire, the P2P service generated $20 million in revenue.

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