

In May, Wood found LimeWire liable for widespread copyright infringement. Yesterday's court order comes after a four-year legal battle between LimeWire and the Recording Industry Association of America, the representative body for many of the world's largest record labels.

The court also ruled that LimeWire should "use all reasonable technological means to immediately cease and desist" copyright infringements still taking place through applications already downloaded.

US judge Kimba Wood ruled that record companies "have suffered – and will continue to suffer – irreparable harm from LimeWire's inducement of widespread infringement of their works", adding that the potential damages were "staggering". The website will continue "working with the music industry to move forward", a LimeWire spokeswoman confirmed. Founded in 2000 by Mark Gorton, a former Wall Street trader, LimeWire is now restricted from allowing the searching and sharing of copyrighted material.
