Convicted File-Swapper Asks Judge to Reduce $1.92M Penalty

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2009 - 8:00am.

Duluth, Minn. - Convicted file-swapper Jammie Thomas-Rasset has argued in a court filing that the $1.92 million in damages she was ordered to pay the record industry for sharing 24 songs violates her right to due process, and is seeking to have the penalty reduced. Her attorneys argue that the damages are arbitrary and unconstitutional, given that a jury first ordered her to pay $10,000 per song -- in a decision that was tossed out -- before a second jury said she should pay $80,000 per song.

The U.S. Copyright Act allows copyright holders to seek statutory damages of between $750 and $150,000 per infringement.

"The concerns that trigger the due process inquiry -- arbitrariness, variability, and unpredictability in awards -- are here in spades; of this, the nearly order-of-magnitude difference between the verdicts in the first and second trials of Mrs. Thomas is unquestionable evidence," Thomas-Rasset's attorneys write in the brief.

They also argue that the labels failed to prove any actual harm to them caused by the defendant, saying that damages amounted to no more than the $1.29 per song she did not pay when she downloaded the songs.

Finally, the defense argues that Congress did not intend the $150,000-per-infringement damages to be used against individual, non-commercial infringers, but rather to punish large-scale CD or DVD pirate operations.

For their part, the record labels have asked the court to impose an injunction against any future file-sharing by Thomas-Rasset, arguing that she showed no remorse, and lied about her actions for years.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/riy6h (Ars Technica)

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/scuttlefilesharingverdict/

Published in DMW Daily, September 1, 2009

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Comments

I think They Should Double The Fine or The Death Penelty

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on September 1, 2009 - 4:20pm.

I am tired of the but I only stole a song. That has destroyed countless bands, U.S. Jobs as well as global, had an effect on the economy as well. I think we quit being so passive and take away all the theives life savings as well as any future savings for their crime. Heck I say we do like the guy in Arizona and give them a tent put them out in the desert for a year for every song and let them live on baloney sanwiches and water. Let them pay for destroying the music business, ripping off the bands and making music nothing more than a weekend warrior game. If they the fans did the same thing to sports you would never hear the end of it or the lawsuites so give me a break.