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The iMesh peer to peer service wants to make the transition from lawsuit target to legitimate file sharing company.

The file-sharing company iMesh, which has already paid $4.1 million to settle 2003 lawsuit claims of copyright infringement, plans to go legit.

In another post-Supreme Court MGM v. Grokster move, Bridgemar Services-owned iMesh doesn't look willing to bear the brunt of potential future lawsuits against it due to the actions of its members. The Grokster decision held that services marketing themselves as methods of getting around copyright laws could be held liable for infringement committed by users of the service.

Also, iMesh hired former Sony music president Robert Summer to handle the company's negotiations with music companies, naming him executive chairman of iMesh. His next deal may be completion of rumored negotiations with Universal Music Group.

Mashboxx, now an iMesh competitor, recently signed a licensing agreement with Sony BMG. Headed by former Grokster leader Wayne Rosso, Mashboxx will license copyright management software from Snocap to determine what rights users have to songs traded on its network.

iMesh will use a central managed rights clearinghouse for music traded on its network, but it is not clear if they will use Snocap as well. According to PC World, iMesh will allow for individual downloads and will offer a subscription service for unlimited downloads.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.