LOS ANGELES, Calif.–Several rap artists are among the plaintiffs in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against CBS Interactive and CNET Networks, according to federal court documents obtained today.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday, accuses CBS of profiting from the distribution of 220 million copies of LimeWire on CNET’s download.com site since 2008.
LimeWire, which was shut down last October by a New York federal judge, is a peer-to-peer, or P2P, system used to copy and distribute film, music and other work. The company was found liable for copyright infringement in a New York federal court, with damages yet to be determined.
The lawsuit accuses CNET, which is partly owned by CBS, of offering “videos, articles and other media that instructed how to use P2P software to locate pirated copies of copyrighted works and remove electronic protections placed on digital music files.”
A call for comment to a CBS Interactive representative was not immediately returned.
The plaintiffs include rappers Detron Bendross of 2 Live Crew, Trisco Smith of Force MDs, and Eric Jackson and De’Angelo Holmes of the Ying Yang Twins. Other plaintiffs in the suit are Alki David, film producer and founder of FilmOn.com, and toy designer Mike Mozart, LimeWire LLC and Lime Group LLC are also named as defendants with CBS Interactive and CNET in the lawsuit.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages and an immediate injunction to stop the alleged copyright infringement.
“Illegal file sharing through LimeWire has caused enormous damage to everyone who is trying to make a living in the entertainment community,” David said. “My ultimate hope is that this lawsuit will ensure that huge corporations like CBS Interactive and CNET do not profit from these wrongful activities at the expense of hard-working artists.”
