eDonkey bites last carrot

It appears the RIAA have won round 2 against P2P file-sharing networks, after eDonkey capitulated on Thursday afternoon. Sam Yagan, the president of MetaMachine, Inc, which makes eDonkey software, stated that they would be converting the service to a closed P2P network of paid content. This is the second network to make such a move in the month, as WinMX closed its service down last week.

According to TechWeb News:

"I expect such a transaction to take place as soon as we can reach a settlement with the RIAA. We hope that the RIAA and other rights holders will be happy with our decision to comply with their request and will appreciate our cooperation to convert eDonkey users to a sanctioned P2P environment," added Yagan.

Sadly, the RIAA is not winning these battles on any legal ground, but rather with threats. The RIAA sent out letters on September 15 to seven different P2P networks, stating essentially that the services comply with what they find acceptable, or they'd shut the services down. Yagan stated that eDonkey frankly "cannot afford to fight a lawsuit – even one we think we would win..."

He continued on to make a prediction that the U.S. stands to lose millions of dollars in tax revenue from profitable companies paid through advertising, because the RIAA and MPAA will sue file-sharing networks into extinction.

So, has the RIAA's bullying tactics finally gone too far? Sing us your song in the forums.