Editing EDonkey2000 (section)

== eDonkey sued by RIAA ==
In September 2005, officials from the company MetaMachine received a [[Cease and desist|cease and desist letter]] from the [[RIAA]] as a result of the June 2005 [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruling ''[[MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.|MGM Studios v. Grokster]]'' that makers of software that facilitates [[copyright infringement]] are liable for that infringement.<ref>{{cite web | title = U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against P2P | url = http://www.betanews.com/article/US-Supreme-Court-Rules-Against-P2P/1119884733 |website=BetaNews | first1=Nate |last1=Mook |first2= Ed |last2=Oswald | date = 2005-06-27 | access-date = 2009-09-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608072143/http://www.betanews.com/article/US-Supreme-Court-Rules-Against-P2P/1119884733 |archive-date= Jun 8, 2011 }}</ref> Many news sites reported that on September 22, 2005, MetaMachine's corporate offices have closed. This was apparently inaccurate, based on the aforementioned news sites checking for the old eDonkey headquarters in New York (the new ones being in New Jersey, as they had moved there).

However, on September 28, 2005, eDonkey officially closed its doors. MetaMachine President Sam Yagan said in a statement that the company would "convert eDonkey's user base to an online content retailer operating in a closed P2P environment," and "such a transaction to take place as soon as we can reach a settlement with the [[RIAA]]".<ref>{{cite web | title = P2P Future Darkens as eDonkey Closes | url = http://www.betanews.com/article/P2P-Future-Darkens-as-eDonkey-Closes/1127953242 |website=BetaNews | first1=Nate |last1=Mook | date = 2005-09-28 | access-date = 2009-09-28 }}</ref> This had little effect on the network as a whole, as eDonkey clients only made up a small minority of the whole network.<gallery>
File:Edonkey closed.png|A snapshot of the eDonkey website with the RIAA notice.

</gallery>

On September 12, 2006 it was reported that MetaMachine, Inc. had agreed to settle with the [[RIAA]] for $30 million,<ref>{{cite web | title = eDonkey Firm to Pay RIAA $30 Million | url = http://www.betanews.com/article/eDonkey-Firm-to-Pay-RIAA-30-Million/1158093147 | work=Nate Mook | date = 2006-09-12 | access-date = 2009-09-28 }}</ref> and the website is replaced by a text advertisement reflecting the [[RIAA]]'s interpretation of copyright law.

Nevertheless, the [[eDonkey network]] is still available through other clients, such as [[eMule]] or [[aMule]].