Judge Tosses Out Verdict Against Minn. Mom Accused Of File Sharing — RIAA Music Downloads — A judge with common sense. Hooray.
Common Sense Hero A federal judge dealt the Recording Industry Association of America and record labels a setback Wednesday by throwing out a $222,000 verdict against a mom who was convicted of illegally sharing music over the Internet.
U.S. District of Minnesota Chief Judge Michael Davis ordered a new trial for Jammie Thomas, saying the jury’s punishment was “unprecedented and oppressive.” Davis said that the term “distribution” does not apply to simply making music available. It requires actual dissemination, he said.
Thomas claimed that she did not share music files and her lawyer argued that she may have been spoofed. A jury convicted her of putting 24 songs on Kazaa’s file-sharing network and ordered her to pay $9,250 per song.
This week, her lawyers convinced Davis that the attorney representing the music label, Capitol, erred when he told the jury that making the songs available for others could be considered illegal distribution, even if there was no proof anyone downloaded the songs.
In a 44-page statement, Davis urged the U.S. Congress to improve copyright laws to prevent “oppressive” penalties in similar cases.
Interesting backgrounder on the Judge here.
The Judge made a good call. Most civil courts have a system where the loser may ask the Judge to reconsider a specific point of law. The Judge agreed and wrote
… the term “distribution” does not apply to simply making music available. It requires actual dissemination.
The RIAA had argued the law to the jury that distribution did NOT required anyone else to actually receive a copy.
The Judge also found the damages to be wildly excessive. Generally a damage award may not exceed the actual damages.
On the face, it appears the Judge made a good call. We’ll see if the Appeal Court agrees with the Judge.