MP3 File Sharing Verdict = $80,000/song
Saturday, June 20th, 2009MINNEAPOLIS — A jury has awarded the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) a “ridiculous” amount in a peer-to-peer MP3 file sharing lawsuit against a Mother from Minnesota.
A federal jury ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated copyrights on 24 songs. The recording companies were awarded $80,000 per song ($1.92 million).
After hearing the verdict, Jammie Thomas-Rasset said the award was “kind of ridiculous”.
The record companies accused Jammie of offering 1,700 songs on the Kazaa music sharing software, though the RIAA to prove only 24 infringements.
RIAA Comment on Verdict in Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset
RIAA REACTION:
“We appreciate the jury’s service and that they take this as seriously as we do. We are pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable. Since day one, we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so.” — Cara Duckworth
PUBLIC REACTION:
Boooooo!