Case Update

On June 18 of this year, a Minnesota jury handed down a verdict against Jammie Thomas-Rasset that even shocked the RIAA (plaintiffs): $1.92 million in damages for sharing 24 music files on Kazaa. For the second time Thomas-Rasset was found liable for willful copyright infringement, but the minimum for statutory damages would have been $18,000.[1] Her first trials was declared a mistrial after the judge reconsidered the jury instruction he selected; see my previous posts for more discussion of Thomas-Rassett’s first trial. Nonetheless, two juries have now found her file sharing behavior to be illegal, and the implications of this decision may be devastating to other peer-to-peer networks. Since this is all so recent, only time will tell how the RIAA will proceed: more lawsuits shooting for astronomical damages, more threats of litigation with the hope of settling, or just simply letting the dust settle where it will for awhile? For the meantime, while the RIAA decides on its next course of action in the wake of this history-making interpretation of the Copyright Act, one thing is certain—Jammie Thomas-Rasset is not ready to admit defeat. Her lawyers have announced that she intends to appeal,[2] or at least has asked for a new trial and a reduction in the damages award.[3]


[1] Anderson, Nate. 2009. Thomas verdict: willful infringement, $1.92 million penalty. Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/jammie-thomas-retrial-verdict.ars (Accessed on July 13, 2009).

[2] Sandoval, Greg. 2009. Jammie Thomas will appeal, lawyer says. CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10277701-93.html (Accessed on July 13, 2009).

[3]Sandoval, Greg. 2009. Jammie Thomas asks for new trial. CNET News. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10280531-93.html (Accessed on July 13, 2009).