The major labels have demanded damages ranging from $400 billion to $75 trillion from Limewire. A federal court judge has since deemed that amount to be "absurd" and contrary to copyright laws. "If plaintiffs were able to pursue a statutory damage theory predicated on the number of direct infringers per work, defendants' damages could reach into the trillions," judge Kimba Wood wrote. "As defendants note, plaintiffs are suggesting an award that is 'more money than the entire music recording industry has made since Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877."

She concluded that the labels should be limited to one damage award per work, which will be decided by the number of works that can be shown to be infringing.

How much is $75 trillion?

(via HotHardware)