Inflation Is Getting Way Out Of Hand
Brainerd woman ordered to pay $1.92M in music downloading case
A 32-year-old Brainerd woman was ordered today to pay $1.92 million for downloading music in her second trial for copyright infringement. That amounts to $80,000 for each of the 24 songs Jammie Thomas-Rasset was accused of downloading.
The damages awarded by a federal jury in Minneapolis are much more severe than the first time Thomas-Rasset, a mother of four, faced six recording companies in court on claims that she downloaded and distributed more than 1,700 songs on Kazaa, an Internet file-sharing network. That ended in a mistrial.
The case is expected to have a major influence in the battle between record companies and music downloaders because it was tried by a jury and received widespread attention.
Of the 30,000 suits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America against alleged file-sharers, Thomas-Rasset's is the only one to go to a jury trial, let alone two jury trials.
"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," Cara Duckworth, Recording Industry Association of America spokeswoman read from a prepared statement after the verdict was announced this afternoon. "Since day one we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so," she said, without specifying how much that settlement might be.
Faced with the reality of the loss, Thomas-Rasset looked tearful at first, but then grew resolute.
"The only thing I can say is, 'Good luck getting it from me,' " she said.
The jury took less than five hours to come to a decision. The case itself has taken three years.
The RIAA brought suit in 2006 against Thomas-Rasset, then a single mother of two. In December 2007, a federal jury in Duluth found her liable up to $220,000 for copyright infringement of the 24 songs the RIAA focused on -- $9,250 per song.
But U.S. District Judge Michael Davis called a mistrial because he said he gave the jurors the wrong instructions. He instructed the jury that the "act of making copyrighted sound recordings available" violates the copyright "regardless of whether actual distribution has been shown." Today's instructions stressed that it is infringement to either reproduce or distribute copyrighted material, but that making something available does not constitute distribution.
Defense attorney Kiwi Camara said that this case is a loss, but it won't have a definite effect because jury trials don't set legal precedents.
"This is a battle won for the RIAA, but not the end of the war."
Camara said the defense is contemplating both settlement and the option of appealing the verdict.
To come to their decision, the jury considered evidence including screen shots of the Kazaa file sharing network, CDs with downloaded and legitimate music, and lists of Thomas-Rasset's personal CD collection.
During closing arguments earlier today Timothy Reynolds, the plaintiff's lead attorney, told the jury Thomas-Rasset gave copyrighted material to "millions on the Internet" through Kazaa, an online file-sharing network.
"She infringed my clients copyrights and then she tried to cover it up," he said.
Thomas-Rasset's defense attorney argued that she didn't download anything, reminding jurors of the hundreds of CDs she owns, including some of the tracks the plaintiff alleges she downloaded.
"There was better evidence brought against prospective jurors than there was against the defendant in this case," Sibley said, referring to instances when jurors admitted to illegally downloading music during jury selection.
Thomas-Rasset testified that she hadn't even heard of Kazaa before the case. She admitted however that her children or ex-boyfriend, who like some of the songs in question, could have downloaded them without her knowledge.
Alex Ebert • 612-673-4264
© 2009 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
You know, it's possible that I'm breaking the law by sharing this story with you here. It is copyrighted material, after all.
Nah, I'm just joshin' ya. It's from a newspaper website. Everybody knows newspaper content isn't worth squat!
Another shining example of the whores ruining the music business.Instead of going after the file-sharing NETWORK, they treat one single mother with the same respect and dignity Godzilla showed Tokyo.
I hope everyone in the RIAA can sleep at night after this.
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