LOS ANGELES, CA  [Wednesday Nov.9.2005]  /RedBoxCode.com/ -- Stealing songs and movies online just got harder with the shutdown of Grokster earlier this week.

In a victory for the entertainment industry, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in June that Grokster was liable for the acts of people using the company's peer-to-peer file-sharing software to steal songs and movies.

Grokster agreed to stop giving away its software and to pay a $50 million settlement to the music industry and Hollywood, reports the Associated Press.

"The United States Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that using this service to trade copyrighted material is illegal. Copying copyrighted motion picture and music files using unauthorized peer-to-peer services is illegal and is prosecuted by copyright owners," Grokster said in a statement posted on its web site.

Grokster also acknowledged, "There are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one of them."

In a statement, Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), said, “This settlement brings to a close an incredibly significant chapter in the story of digital music. This is a chapter that ends on a high note for the recording industry, the tech community and music fans and consumers everywhere."

Bainwol added, "At the end of the day, this is about our ability to invest in new music. An online marketplace populated by legitimate services allows us to do just that.”

This may not be the last we've heard from Grokster. The company is hoping for a comeback with "a safe and legal," fee-based service to be available soon.