Copyright Law

Reported that RIAA will ask for a 3rd trial in Capitol Records v Thomas

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

According to news reports, the RIAA has announced that it will elect not to accept a judgment for $54,000, but to instead go for a new trial, limited to the issue of the appropriate amount of statutory damages.

I checked the court's docket on PACER and found no confirmation of this.

[Ed. note. In my opinion, the Court erred in (a) failing to decide the constitutional question, and decide that even the minimum statutory damages of $750 would be unconstitutionally excessive under the due process clause as against actual damages of 35 cents, and (b) permitting a new trial at all. Even if the Court could find a permissible rationale for declining to decide the constitutional question, which it can't, there is still no way under existing copyright law any award of more than $750 could be legally sustainable. So even under that scenario the judge should be directing judgment for $18,000, not setting himself up for another circus. -R.B.]

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on January 29, 2010 (boomark / email).