iMesh.com have just paid out US$4.1 million (€3.34 million) in compensation to the US music industry to settle a lawsuit on their P2P software. The iMesh client software was accused of helping internet users to download music illegally, and so record companies pursued them for US$150,000 (€122,400) per song plus legal fees.
iMesh are now operating under Bridgemar Services and have promised to introduce a new, non-infringing, service. No details are forthcoming on what the service might be, though. Their website simply states: “Don’t worry — we are not going anywhere. We have been doing this for a very long time and are very good at what we do. So, we anticipate no gaps in service while we transition to the new model. The new model will launch later this year.”
The company is upbeat about settling the case, however: “iMesh views this as a historic opportunity. We agreed to settle in order to ensure our ability to provide you with more content and better technology than any of our competitors. Under the New iMesh model, which will launch later this year, you will be able to find and share the content you want without fear of being sued.”
There’s the issue: there’s nothing to prevent the RIAA now suing the music sharers and downloaders who used the iMesh service.
Whether iMesh will be successful in relaunching itself as a legitimate P2P service, much like Napster’s moderately successful reinvention, remains to be seen.