Copyright Law

Jury awards plaintiffs $1,920,000.00 in Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

In Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset, the jury has returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs in the amount of $1,920,000.00, or $80,000.00 per song file. I.e. 228,571 times the actual damages.

[Ed. note. Well I guess there is going to be a third trial. I hope that during the next trial the technical evidence will be challenged, that the issue of recoverability of statutory damages will be tested, and that the plaintiffs will be required to prove (a) dissemination of copies (b) to the public, (c) by a sale or other transfer of ownership, or by lease, rental, or lending, before being deemed to have shown an infringement of the distribution right. The nonsensical exorbitancy of the verdict actually enhances the constitutionality argument, demonstrating how open ended the statute is if the RIAA's wild eyed interpretation of it is allowed to survive. -RB]

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net
Slashdot
ZDNet
BetaNews
Digital Media Wire
Barrapunto (Spanish)
QGL

Keywords: lawyer digital copyright law online internet law legal download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie independent label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs intellectual property portable music player

Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on June 18, 2009 (boomark / email).