Limewire Shut Down Following Legal Battle

Limewire, one of the internet's most popular file-sharing websites, has been shut down.

The US district court has issued an injunction which effectively ends a four-year dispute between Lime Group and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The company has been told to disable its search, download and upload functions, reports the Associated Press.

A message on Limewire.com states: "This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software.

"Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorisation is illegal.”

A Lime Group spokeswoman acknowledged that the company was now “out” of the file-sharing business.

But she added that they were working on alternative ideas that adhere to copyright laws.