RIAA Verdict: P2P File Sharer Liable, $222,000 in Damages
Thu Oct 4, 2007 10:55PM EDT
See Comments (24)
As promised, it was a short trial. And the verdict is in: Jammie Thomas is guilty of copyright infringement and now owes the record industry $222,000, quite a bit less than the millions she could have been found liable for, but certainly enough to likely bankrupt the single mother.
The jury assigned a value of $9,250 to each infringed recording. No one is sure how that number was reached.
I can't say I'm not disappointed. Not because Thomas wasn't guilty; she certainly went out of her way to appear so (potentially handing over the wrong hard drive to the RIAA for examination), and her legal team's defense was atrocious to the point of being nonexistant (relying exclusively on the idea that some hacker might have used her usual user name and her computer without her knowledge). Rather, I'm upset because this will do nothing but encourage the RIAA to continue its strongarm tactics, which it will probably step up now that it has a legal precedent to back up its Gestapo-class threats.
Thomas's case is merely the first, however, to make it to trial. There will certainly be others (though probably fewer, as more will settle now that the RIAA has established a real track record in court) and hopefully some of them will have lawyers with a better grasp on the complicated issues here.
One thing is certain: Watch for more RIAA fearmongering in the coming months. Hey, it's almost Halloween.
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Comments on RIAA Verdict: P2P File Sharer Liable, $222,000 in Damages
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2 Posted by cnull on Fri Oct 5, 2007 1:01AM EDT Report Abuse
I'm with you rogueist... only they've gone after 30,000 people over four years... and every month observers say the same thing: how bad it will be for the RIAA's image. Well, it just can't get any worse, so I figure they will just keep suing and suing until there are no more CDs being bought by anyone. But at least they'll have those $3000 settlements to retire on.
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3 Posted by thekclyon on Fri Oct 5, 2007 3:48AM EDT Report Abuse
This ruling frustrates me beyond belief. Not only has the RIAA sued 12-year-old girls and dead people (yes, I said "dead people." Click the link to read more), they've now set legal precedents for file-sharing that will enable more victories in the courtroom. The RIAA has proved they can win solely on tracing the IP to the user. Sad, I know. My argument is copyright law in it's present form is archaic and not within the scope of what is becoming culturally acceptable. Since this Minnesota mother's lawyer didn't ask the following few questions, I will: How can you make a judgement against a single mom without an appropriate investigation or clear proof that the she is the infringer? If the RIAA did not have to prove she was sharing the songs or behind the keyboard when the downloading took place, how did she participate in "unauthorized reproduction and distribution"? If she has the right to a jury of her peers, how many tech-savvy P2P users sat in the jury box? Who was the ISP that surrendered this woman's confidential information? How do you "steal" something that can be reproduced infinitely for free? It's unfortunate that her 12 "peers," who obviously disagree with the millions of us, couldn't see the years of legal system abuse caused by the RIAA. It's time we reevaluate the copyright law before us. Obedience to this out-of-date law is tyranny. I strongly believe this MUST be changed. On a lighter note, I wouldn't fret too much. It's inevitable that another file-sharing network will respond with new innovative and increasingly complex ways to share content and circumvent efforts to stop groups such as the RIAA and MPAA. The defeat of these labels are coming... Congrats RIAA, you crushed a single mom; you only have about 1 million more to go. Until then, I'll be listening to my downloaded In Flames discography...
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4 Posted by dehnger2u on Fri Oct 5, 2007 8:18AM EDT Report Abuse
Un-FREAKING-believable Real blood indeed. Screw cd's.....
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5 Posted by dcsoccer25 on Fri Oct 5, 2007 9:39AM EDT Report Abuse
Ha, they won't stop when CD's stop selling, they'll just continue on sueing people about sharing songs downloaded on things like iTunes. I find a verdict like this to be an utter atrocity, a guilty charge with next to no proof? And was the ISP issued some sort of legal document requiring them to divulge the IP information, or did they just do it?
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1 Posted by rogueist on Thu Oct 4, 2007 11:31PM EDT Report Abuse
That's bad news for the RIAA - they dont realize what will happen when they go after more and more of the "normal" people - when "normal" people feel immensely threatened, they do irrational things - and the RIAA will suffer GREATLY for it. I wouldnt be surprised if in the coming months real blood was shed over this.