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LimeWire to Block Copyrighted Work
An anonymous reader writes "Slyck is reporting that LimeWire is working on new code that will block non-licensed material. The new code checks to see if shared material is licensed, if it is not, the LimeWire client will politely inform the user, 'LimeWire can't determine if one or more files have been published under a suitable license. These files will not be shared.'" From the article: "Approximately 3 to 5 days ago, LimeWire developers began working on two new branches, cc_reverify_interval-branch and cc-publish-branch. The code in the first branch works to verify that every file shared has a license. If this is not the case, the file will not be shared. The second branch is for publishing one's own work without a license. According to the release notes, individuals can attach a Collective Commons license if the work is either their own or have permission to distribute the work ... According to a LimeWire beta tester who informed Slyck of this news, this feature is already complete. Developers are simply waiting for the signal to integrate these branches with the main branch, providing Mark Gorton, CEO of LimeWire, decides to go through with this."
Why? P2P is used mostly for legal trade, isn't it? 'Cause that's what I keep reading on /.
Si vis pacem, para bellum
The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian
Ha, just watch the userbase for Limewire suddenly plummet, and you'll see just how much of P2P is really for "legitimate purposes."
It's like this big huge issue for most people, particularly on Slashdot, to admit that the vast majority of P2P activity is just illegal piracy of copyrighted stuff. You either get the "P2P is great for legitimate uses, and here is my long anecdotal story, blah blah," or you get "The RIAA is evil because the websites tell me so, so I'm going to ensure that System of a Down doesn't get paid today, which somehow is good for System of a Down!"
But then when someone violates the copyright of the GPL, watch out! Calls for legal action from the EFF abound.
"Sufferin' succotash."