November 5, 2010
The Recording Industry Association of America has won a major victory over defendant Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who lost her retrial. You may know Rasset as the woman who was ordered to pay a ridiculous amount of money for downloading MP3's. She has been ordered to pay $1.5 million, or $62,500 fine per shared song, for 24 songs she shared via Kazaa. This week an appeals court reaffirmed the judgment that the RIAA was awarded back in 2006 by a Minneapolis jury.
Thomas-Rasset’s legal team has already announced that they will file a new appeal. The RIAA says that it will not give the money to the artists whose rights were infringed, instead using the money for its anti-piracy campaigns. Interesting.
Source: TorrentFreak
Comments
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
"The RIAA says that it will not give the money to the artists whose rights were infringed, instead using the money for its anti-piracy campaigns. Interesting."
The flesh of the dead, eaten by the zombies, will not be digested to help the zombies survive, as they are already dead and thus have no digestive systems, but some of the remnants of the dead being eaten will themselves become zombies in order to devour more of the living.
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
The RIAA: finding ways to legally cheat artists out of their money since 1952
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
But isn't this suit on the behalf of the artists who were so egregiously wronged by the file sharing? What about their restitution from this dangerous, damaging sharing of their works? How will they pay their bills?
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
Like they're going to get any money.
Ever heard the phrase you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip?
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
Yet another whose life and probably the lives of her children and grandchildren being ruined for good.
This is past ridiculous.
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
The RIAA says that it will not give the money to the artists whose rights were infringed, instead using the money for its anti-piracy campaigns.
Much as I dislike piracy, this is one of the many reasons why I don't like the RIAA either, and I'm certain I'm not the only one who feels this way. They really need to re-think their methods.
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
The RIAA said they won't do trails like this again, where they send letters asking for "settlements" or else they will go to court. But they will finish what they started. Kind of sad for Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who most likely will not end up paying anything near $1.5 million, but be bankrupted all the same.
Plus this court case is ridiculous to me, $62,500 per song (24 total)feels way overboard, and I suspect that the judge would have thrown out this jury rulling if the appeal wasn't filed yet.
Re: RIAA Wins $1.5M Judgment Against File-Sharer
A judge already drastically reduced the amount after the first trial, but then a mistrial was declared and they started over. It'll be reduced again on appeal.
I'm not a big fan of Thomas-Rasset, but I'm glad she's hanging in there. I'd really like to see the courts establish fair limits on damages like in BMW v Gore...