Physorg.com
(AP) — A federal judge has drastically reduced a nearly $2 million verdict against a Minnesota woman found guilty last year of sharing 24 songs over the Internet.
U.S. District Judge Michael Davis says in his ruling Friday that the $1.92 million penalty a jury imposed against Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd was “monstrous and shocking.” He reduced it to $2,250 per song, or about $54,000.
Davis wrote in his ruling he would have liked to reduce it further but was limited in doing so. He says the new penalty is still “significant and harsh.”
It’s about time.
$1.92 million or $54,000, what’s the difference? I could pay either nor would I.
Agree it should be reduced.
In reality, the RIAA got what they really wanted – make an example out of the woman and obtain LOTS of publicity.
Well at least its in the right direction. $54k USD remains ridiculous.
For her ‘crime’ it should be in the $100 USD or less ball park. Even at $100 USD she would still be paying towards 5 times the value of every song.
I’m sure the supreme court will rule against this soon. Cant interfere with the whims of our corporate masters.
And the amount going to the artists is …. ?
#5 — ZERO!!!!
C’mon guys. That stupid woman constantly lied about how the music came to be on her computer, blamed her ex husband (or boyfriend) and even sunk to blaming her kids to get herself off the hook. THATS why the damaged were so high, if she’d just been honest instead of what basically amounted to child abuse I’m sure the initial ruling would have been more along the lines of this revised one.
What a fucking loser.
#7 – What would you like to see happen to her? Maybe time in the RIAA PMITA Prison? Possibly a UFIA?
The amount going to the artist is whatever amount they took when they sold the rights to their work. Whoever bought the work has PAID for it, therefore owns it and has every right to exploit it commercially. This recurring notion that “the artist isn’t getting paid” is just a false, lame excuse not to pay for songs.
Teenagers love that kind of faux righteous non-sequitur argumentation:
– You did something wrong. I demand an explanation.
– Excuse me Dad, I’m trying to study here. Do you mind?!!
If she had been convicted of insider trading on Wall Street, she would get a 30 day suspended sentence and 60 days of community service.
How DARE they lower the penalty!
The song “Happy Birthday” earns 2 million dollars each year in royalties, so her fine should be 2 x 10e6 x 24 songs = 24 x 10e6
Really, I can’t see what the problem is with understanding the value of music.
Oh, and anybody that heard any of the songs so pirated should be retroactively penalized the same amount.
11 You’re just exaggerating the whole concept to a ludicrous extreme that never existed in the first place, in order to ridicule the concept. Your maneuver is pretty lousy and plain to see. If that’s the best argumentation you can come up with, I’ll bet even you know that you are wrong.
#12 Small punishments don’t make sense. If it’s too small, no one will buy anything anymore. Just steal it. If you get caught, whatever, just pay what you were supposed to pay anyway. If you don’t get caught, score! Punishment is meant to hurt.
Good news.
The original judgment was cruel and unusual. In fact so is the law.
#16 Long live, rock and roll!
no way man.. i sing.. you give me monay
$54,000 is still monstrously shocking.
$3000 would be a significant hit in the pocketbook. $54,000 is absurd and won’t get paid.
#16 for the win! Songs are $1 at iTunes, you don’t need to steal music left and right, it is reasonably priced today. Plus you can buy used off of Ebay and keep it legal. Many options …
In order to ascertain whether my pirated music is worth anything, I’ve asked a hit man to negotiate with the RIAA.
Does this all mean that I can’t give away my
record collection, my CD collection, My Cassette tape collection to whom ever I please
without running afoul of the RIAA lawyers?
If I paid for the music on my computer, can I
give it all away to anybody?
If my canned music is not my property to do with as I please, then I might as well stop buying it and just steal it.