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LimeWire being shut down is a pretty insignificant development. It was outdated technology, and entirely different from relatively modern BitTorrent tech (itself due to soon be replaced by more modern systems), particularly 'magnet links.' Of course, it sets a legal precedent, but the anti-copyright groups have similar minor victories in court, ACTA has been watered down significantly - all these things tend to even each other out.
Was I previously trying to claim that the availability of piratable materials hasn't cost publishers/authors a single sale they otherwise would have had? - It's a question that I find much less interesting than that of why the copyright protection bodies haven't been able to prove any revenue losses incurred as a result of piracy. Surely, if publishers of copyrighted materials are suffering such significant losses, with their resources it should have been easy to do so.
We're left with the quite possible premise that people are spending the same amount on books/music/films as they would have before, but consume some extra that they are now able to get for free. Or, they spend more than they would have because they are able to find the work of more artists who they like. There have been several studies that have suggested this to be the case, but not enough have been conducted to draw any certain conclusions. These still represent better data than the pro-copyright bodies have been able to bring to the table.
Some (many?) on MR will think that these customers should not consume the extra materials that they take without permission. That is a matter for that individual's moral conscience. Like language, the law is a living, mutable thing. Like language, it is changing as a result of usage by the people at large, not certain politicians who are paid sums of money by the entertainment industry.
I would suggest that the younger generation have a different attitude to whether using these technologies is acceptable than the older one. Will we face a society in which the majority disregard those laws that don't suit them as this group grows to maturity? Sounds unlikely, surely?
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