LimeWire has released this official statement:
As of today, we are required to stop distribution and support of LimeWire’s P2P file-sharing service as a result of a court-ordered injunction.
Naturally, we’re disappointed with this turn of events. We are extremely proud of our pioneering history and have, for years, worked hard to bridge the gap between technology and content rights holders. However, at this time, we have no option but to cease further distribution and support of our software.
It’s a sad occasion for our team, and for you - the hundreds of millions of people who have used LimeWire to discover new things.
While we have enabled open sharing and discovery for the past decade, LimeWire is mostly the product of the people who used it. You made LimeWire. Thank you for letting us be part of that. Your support and enthusiasm has fueled everything that we do.
During this challenging time, we are excited about the future. The injunction applies only to the LimeWire product. Our company remains open for business.
We remain deeply committed to working with the music industry and making the act of loving music more fulfilling for everyone - including artists, songwriters, publishers, labels, and of course music fans.
Our team of technologists and music enthusiasts is creating a completely new music service that puts you back at the center of your digital music experience.
We’ll be sharing more details about our new service and look forward to bringing it to you in the future.
Lime Company, 10/27/2010
LimeWire, the name often synonymous with illegal P2P file sharing, closed it’s doors Tuesday following a court ordered injunction after U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood issued a judgment in May that LimeWire knowingly allowed large scale copyright infringement.
LimeWire made use of the Gnutella network, one of the first decentralized P2P networking models. There is a large number of client programs available on an equally large number of host operating systems. While LimeWire appears to be out of the picture for now, that is by no means a death-blow to the P2P concept the RIAA wants.