LimeWire

Associated With

Lime Wire LLC - historical operator; Mark Gorton - founder; Greg Bildson - founding CTO/COO; Chris Rohrs - original developer

Defining Feature

Java-based file sharing across the decentralised Gnutella network

Status

Discontinued - official distribution and support ended under injunction on 26 October 2010

Overview

LimeWire was a Java-based desktop client that shared files through the decentralised Gnutella network.

Released by Lime Wire LLC in August 2000, it sent searches through participating computers and transferred selected files directly from peers. Unauthenticated results could include mislabelled files, commercial decoys, corrupt content and malware.

A permanent injunction on 26 October 2010 ended official distribution and support. The business that revived the LimeWire name in 2022 is separate and has no founder continuity.

Why It Mattered

LimeWire brought decentralised file sharing to a vast mainstream audience while making the risks of peer-supplied content unusually visible. Users judged filenames, formats, sizes and source counts without any guarantee that a result was authentic, complete or safe.

That mixture of convenience and uncertainty made it an enduring symbol of the peer-to-peer era and a major test case in the legal struggle over software associated with large-scale copyright infringement.

Origins and Development

• Lime Wire LLC was founded in June 2000 and released the LimeWire client in August 2000.
• Mark Gorton founded and directed the company, while Chris Rohrs was hired to write the first software version.
• Early development also involved Greg Bildson, Adam Fisk, Sumeet Thadani, Rob Soule, Anurag Singla and Tarun Kapoor.

Gnutella Search and Transfer

• Search queries travelled through connected Gnutella peers rather than a LimeWire-owned media catalogue.
• Later versions used leaf clients and higher-capacity ultrapeers to route queries and return matching results.
• Selected data transferred directly from one or more sharing computers.

False Results, Malware and Closure

• Peer-supplied descriptions were unauthenticated, and results included mislabelled, corrupt, duplicated and deliberately spoofed files.
• A 45-day study in 2006 found malware in 68 percent of downloadable responses within selected executable, archive and Microsoft Office categories, not across all files or MP3 recordings.
• The injunction entered on 26 October 2010 required Lime Wire to halt official distribution and support and disable functions under its control.

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