Copyright Law

In Bridgeport v. Justin Combs case, UMG and Universal argued that jury verdict for more than 10 times actual damages was unconstitutional

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

In the case of Bridgeport Music v. Justin Combs Publishing, UMG and Universal -- two of the most frequent RIAA plaintiffs -- successfully argued that a jury's award of punitive damages in a copyright infringement case, which exceeded the plaintiff's actual damages by a ratio of more than 10:1, was unconstitutional as being violative of due process.

[Ed. note. The jury's award in Capitol v. Thomas exceeded the plaintiffs' actual damages by a ratio of around 23,000:1. But UMG and Universal think that that was just hunky dory. -R.B.]

Bridgeport v. Justin, Brief of UMG and Universal, pp 59-64*
Bridgeport v. Justin, Opinion of Court*

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on May 13, 2008 (boomark / email).