Huge Fine For Music File-sharer

[cypher79]

A court in the US has ordered a woman to pay $222,000 (£109,000) in damages for illegally file-sharing music.

The jury ordered Jammie Thomas, 32, from Minnesota, to pay for offering to share 24 specific songs online - a cost of $9,250 per song.

But the fine could have been millions, as record companies said she illegally shared a total of 1,702 songs.

Ms Thomas was the first person accused of illegal file-sharing who decided to fight the case in court.

Each year millions of households illegally share music files, and the music industry takes it as a serious threat to its revenue.

About 26,000 lawsuits have been filed against alleged file-sharers, but most defendants settle privately by paying a fine amounting to a few thousand dollars.

Industry defiant

However, contesting the charge and losing will cost Jammie Thomas almost a quarter of a million dollars.

Her lawyer, Brian Toder, told the Associated Press Ms Thomas was reduced to tears by the verdict.

"This is a girl that lives from paycheque to paycheque, and now all of a sudden she could get a quarter of her paycheque garnished for the rest of her life," he said.

The US record industry said people would understand the verdict.

Richard Gabriel, a lawyer for the music companies, said the verdict was important.

"This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK," he told AP.

He said no decision had yet been made about what the record companies would do, if anything, to pursue collecting the money from Ms Thomas.

bbc.co.uk

 

[kained&able]

grrrr

still contesting it isn't going to work. It is illega,l she did download the tunes. Not a lot a court can do for ya.

I reckon the only way to do it is to point out all the money you do spend on cds/gig tickets/merc and tell the companies that your really not the problem and they you help support the music industry bla blah blah. And that they music industry.riaa or whoever have mercy.


dave

 

[wreckhead]

How proportionate!

This woman is being made a scapegoat so that the recording industry can prop up an archaic business model. How many lives were ruined, or even affected by her actions?

 

[Stanley Edwards]

File Sharing Fine. Big!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7029229.stm

WTF! $9,250 per song.

Are they really going to enforce that?

 

[Kanda]

Just a few posts down this very forum http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=224475 you slacker!!!

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Just a few posts down this very forum http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=224475 you slacker!!!

I did take a quick glance. Honest.

Must be my Friday boozey lunch taking effect.

 

[TopCat]

This would be my plan if they ever caught me. Drag out a hugely expensive court case and then laugh at their attempts to collect the money.

 

[chico enrico]

Things like this confuse me.

what would happen if she told them to fuck off and that they could whistle for their money.

Do you think any court/judge would really send her to prison?

i doubt it.

 

[butchersapron]

They could and they would. Which is why they're picking on people like this. It's far too late of course. Milions of people giving a penny would clear that girls debt in minutes.

 

[Melinda]

They could and they would. Which is why they're picking on people like this. It's far too late of course. Milions of people giving a penny would clear that girls debt in minutes.

I hope this happens.

 

[chico enrico]

They could and they would. Which is why they're picking on people like this. It's far too late of course. Milions of people giving a penny would clear that girls debt in minutes.

yes. if all those anti-globalisation types were really interested in doing something constructive they'd organise a defence campaign to do that that, instead of capering about fast-food joints with masks on.

 

[TopCat]

Nah why give money to the record companies? Lets all just carry on downloading what we want and fuck em.