In the very first file-sharing case to go before a jury, Jammie Thomas of Minnesota was found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay $9,250 for each of the 24 songs that were shared over Kazaa back in 2005. That means she owes the RIAA $222,000 dollars. While that amount of money is ridiculous for 24 songs, it’s better than the $150,000 that the RIAA originally claimed that they deserved per song, or a total of 3.6 million dollars.
With a win under their belt, you can bet that the RIAA just got filled-up with enough confidence to take another victim to court. Because this was the first file-sharing case to go before the court, and the industry won, this may influence the outcomes of other similar trials in the future. Ray Beckerman, a New York Lawyer who writes a blog about the Recording Industry versus The People said that the verdict was “one of the most irrational things I have ever seen in my life in the law. A verdict of $22,000 for infringement of 24 song files worth a total of $23.76? It is an outrage, and I hope it is a wake-up call to the world that we all need to start supporting the defendants in these cases.”
People around the Blogosphere, as you can imagine, are appalled at the fact that the RIAA won, but even more appalled at the fact that this woman has to pay $9,250 for each song. Here’s a sampling of the comments:
- At Computer World: “How long will it be before you will not be able to play a song loud enough for someone else to hear it other than the person who bought the song?”
- At Gizmodo:”This is shocking. not surprising, but shocking none the less. I guess my two mp3 players, that have thousands of songs that I bought on CD, are illegal contraband. My options of moving to Asian countries for work are looking more appealing. I’ve officially lost faith.”
- At Ars: “I believe the verdict was correct according to the law but is the law right? $222,000 for 24 SONGS??? I would be very interested in knowing what the RIAA offered to settle for as it was probably much less that this judgement. Sucks for Jammie!”
Any thoughts?
When the three branches of the government no longer listen to the people that they govern, the people must consider their options carefully. That’s exactly why our founding fathers thought the en.wikipedia.org]'>second amendment to the Constitution necessary.
If this is the one I just read about in my paper she not only has to pay the $222K but the legal fees for the RIAA which means she is going to end up paying out close to a half million dollars.
Since this was a trial by jury, what the heck did the RIAA do to influence or should I say blackmail the jury into ruling for them?
This has finally convince me to never buy a cd ever again. Nearly 23 or so dollars PER SONG!? I know downloading songs hurts them (no sympathy for the RIAA) but it can’t hurt them THAT much, or as much as they hurt the consumer. Makes the U.S. seem less and less like a Democracy.
That makes it even worse. The jury probably gets half of the money or something.
There are laws that have to be followed, but it is ridiculous how much has to be paid out for each song. That’s not even within reason.
The RIAA is supposed to protect the artists… but in the end, I think they’re just hurting them. You’re not the first person I’ve heard that has said they won’t buy a CD again.
The great irony is that in the same week that radiohead release their new album for free (or pay what you want) we have the riaa taking people to court for 222K. It just seems like digital music is continuing to get more of a legal minefield, file sharring copyrighted material is clearly illegal, but a 222k penalty for 24 songs is more than excessive. The riaa are crippling something they don’t like rather than taking advantage of the opportunities digital music can create. On an extra note I’d be interested to know if the riaa have ever prosecuted someone for sharring a cd with a friend.
The Computer World quote is great.
Everyone has to watch their back now; they’re sharks, once they taste blood, they just want more.
I can’t help but think of “Don’t Download this Song” by Weird Al.
[youtube.com]
Yeah, that song’s great. So is the South Park episode (”Christian Rock Hard”).
That would be interesting to know. I doubt that’s probably happened though, but I’m sure people have got caught who were selling music CD’s illegally.
It’s been a little while since I’ve seen that. Ahh the memories.