U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Aspen of the Northern District of Illinois issued the order on Monday directing Aimster, also known as Madster, to immediately disable and disconnect any and all computers, including servers, used in connection with any system or service owned or controlled by Aimster.

The order, which will remain in effect until Dec 22 or until further order from the court, also calls for Internet access to the Aimster system to be terminated immediately.

John Deep, Aimster's founder, declined comment.

The recording industry also recently filed a motion to find Aimster in contempt on the grounds it has willfully disregarded the preliminary injunction order. A hearing on that motion is set for Dec. 19, 2002.

"Aimster and John Deep have no excuse for not complying with the court's November 4th preliminary injunction," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. The trade group represented the record labels that were plaintiffs in the case.

"This temporary restraining order will certainly make clear that the infringement must stop immediately, whether that is through Aimster's actions or actions by its Internet Service Provider," he said.

Deep is currently without counsel after his former attorneys withdrew from the case, citing differences in strategy.

He said he was unsure if he could hire another lawyer, noting:

"The plaintiffs are a very wealthy, powerful band."