[Infowarrior] - Court orders Jammie Thomas to pay RIAA $1.92 million

[Richard Forno]

Court orders Jammie Thomas to pay RIAA $1.92 million
by Greg Sandoval
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10268199-93.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Jammie Thomas-Rasset was found guilty of willful copyright  
infringement on Thursday in a Minneapolis federal court and must pay  
the recording industry $1.92 million.

In a surprise decision, the jury imposed damages against Thomas- 
Rasset, who was originally accused to sharing more than 1,700 songs,  
at a whopping $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was ultimately  
found guilty of illegally sharing..

In 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America claimed in a  
lawsuit that Thomas-Rasset pilfered 1,700 songs. The RIAA eventually  
culled that number down to a representative sample of 24.

Thomas-Rasset lost a previous trial in October 2007 when a jury  
rendered a $222,000 verdict against the Minnesota native. U.S.  
District Judge Michael David threw out the decision after  
acknowledging he erred when giving his jury instructions.

According to Ars Technica reporter Nate Anderson, Thomas-Rasset gasped  
when the dollar amount was read in court.

For the four largest recording companies, the jury's decision is an  
affirmation of the legality of the industry's copyright claims.

"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this issue as  
seriously as we do," said Cara Duckworth, an RIAA spokeswoman. "We are  
pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant  
liable. Since day 1, we have been willing to settle the case and  
remain willing to do so."

According to Ben Sheffner, a copyright advocate and former attorney  
for 20th Century Fox who attended the entire hearing, one of Thomas'  
attorneys is willing to discuss a settlement with the music industry.


Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He  
is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles  
Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET 
.