Comments on: Court orders Jammie Thomas to pay RIAA $1.92 million

Jury says defendant must pay $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was ultimately found guilty of illegally sharing.

[Rick1556]

Sounds like it's time for the consumer to speak up here. I for one will NEVER buy another recording from these record labels. If we drive them out of business, more friendy one will take their place. Maybe they will feel as depressed, as this poor women feels now.

This judgement is absurdly unfair, and the members of this jury should all be thrown in jail. I have a terrible feeling Jammie got shafted like this because she is Anishinabe and the jury was most likely all white.

Racial element aside, the RIAA is a parasitic organization that produces nothing of its own, and is responsible for the slew of no-talent "artists" who continually crank out saccharine "music" that these parasites can profit from. Much like health care, when music is only allowed to exist for profit, its quality goes down the drain.

Screw the RIAA. I sincerely hope the jury that did this to Jammie gets their just rewards.

[ralfthedog]

"...the RIAA is a parasitic organization that produces nothing of its own" I know a number of ticks and leaches that would be insulted by the comparison.

[ferricoxide]

So, I guess that the assertion, here, is that she was single-handedly responsible for sabotaging the sales of each of those tracks? I mean, at $80K a song taken at the iTunes rate of $0.99 a song, that's like them saying she cost them 80K sales per song. Seems kind of suspect. Hell, even if you're talking treble damages, that still only works out to 25K sales. Somehow, I doubt that each shared song was passed on to anywhere near that many people.

[DadBlogs]

I bet those four Journey songs don't sound so good now.

[Michichael]

I wonder what kickbacks the RIAA offered the jury. Bribery ftl.

[robertcbyrd]

I just want to know how the piraters of the world are going to fight this crap.

[Renegade Knight]

Don't feed the hand that bites you. Simple stuff really.

[pkron]

The record industry has seen my last purchase. With 30,000 lawsuit and this travesty, I hope we can all agree they have gone too far. The verdict may be fair. The law, on the other hand, was not fair.

[enoch861]

Why the in th world does the RIAA exist?

[terryverhaar]

I have recently been reading Lawrence Lessig's 2004 book called Free Culture. A highly recommended read if you want to understand just how the copyright laws have been perverted over the last few decades. I consider myself a creator of intellectual property and "artistic works" but the RIAA is one of the deeply entrenched industries that is desperate to control the creative process through unjust laws. And it is definitely through their lobbying and the system of governmental "persuasion" that has put these abusive laws into place.

[sentinel1759]

LOL

Wow so the RIAA finally won a case after getting OWNED over and over again. (Pirate Bay anyone?)

RIAA is a joke and another example of the failing American business model...making garbage and overcharging for it.

If they think this will sway peoples decisions they are seriously mistaken.

Besides....

STOLEN MUSIC SOUNDS BETTER!

Catch you back at the Bay

HAR HAR HAR!

[Bill_I]

This whole charade was invented by greedy lawyers, not by musicians or their audience. --- As for audio quality, it can be superb or wretched, depending on who is calling the shots. Mastering engineers hate the practice of making everything rip-smashing, non-stop LOUD.

[doctortecate]

I don't understand how anyone can agree with the RIAA, especially on this.

Let me ask:

Have you ever taped the baseball game? Thief

Recorded the season finale of Survivor b/c you had to work late and then watched it with friends? Thief

Have you ever made a mix tape from the radio? Thief

Copy and pasted an image from the web? Thief

I don't understand half the comments on this post. Nor do I understand how our congress has taken the side opposite of the people they were elected to represent.

It's almost funny, except for how terrifying it is.

[gumpman155]

I can answer every ones questions with this America is no longer a free nation America is no longer a nation of laws. We the American people no longer have a government that represents us as in by the people and for the people. Americas court system is full of cruption and kick backs and lies. Welcome to the United Corperations of America (U.C.A.). Washington is nothing more than Wall Street and Wall Street is nothing more then Washington. Big buissness and big government is what America is now. As long as you got money you can do any thing you want. But if you don't have money you can't do any thing at all. I as gumpman155 have no faith in the American system at all.

[doctortecate]

the american system is fine. it's the american people that are the problem. we don't use the tools that were very diligently reserved for us over two centuries ago; the tools to resolve just these sorts of problems.

apathy kills.

and i still don't care.

[troppp]

This is unreasonable by any stretch.

[Dr_Zinj]

Absolute miscarriage of justice.
They should appeal this decision, which should be summarily dismissed as not being proportional to the crime.

First of all, Ms Thomas will never be able to pay such a fine in her lifetime. So setting that as the fine is ridiculous, absurd, and unrealistic.

Second, the precedent for damages awarded is supposed to be $750 to $30,000 per infraction. At the maximum, Ms Thomas should have been fined no more than $780,000. The minimum would have been $18,800.

Finally, the judge and lawyers in this case should pay the fine. Not the defendant. They failed to inform the jury of their power of nullification and therefor violated the rights of the defendant. There was no way she could receive a fair trial under those circumstances.

[SteveW928]

@ gumpman155 -

Freedom doesn't mean getting things for free.
Freedom doesn't mean doing whatever you want.
Free country doesn't mean free music for all.

A agree that the power centers in America are the 'corporate right' with a capitalism which is out of control... or the 'socialist left' setting up systems for the masses to use and abuse.... but I'm not sure what that has to do with this court case.

[JM_Brazil]

And Freedom does not allow for a giant corporate kick in the crotch to Joe Average.

[SteveW928]

@ JM_Brazil -

I'm not sure how they are kicking anyone. Sure, there has to be limits on corporations to make capitalism work... but this is hardly such a case. The solution is really simple. Don't buy music from the corporations.... but don't steal it either. If you stop buying.. they will either A) lower the prices, or B) be undersold by the artists directly. These corporations aren't hurting you in any way... they are offering a product. If you think it is too expensive, don't buy it. If you think they are treating the artists unfairly... don't buy it.

I'd like to see fair-trade products sold, but that doesn't mean I go steal the non-fair-trade stuff from the stores. It doesn't really make the point you're trying to make by stealing. It is basically a bunch of really spoiled, selfish people justifying their crimes.

[JM_Brazil]

In this case, what's the difference of fining her US$1.92B, and, say, US$1 gazillion? She'll never be able to pay a million dollars, she'll most likely never be able to pay a fraction of that. Abusive, to say the least.

[SteveW928]

@ JM_Brazil -

That is quite typical in the U.S. court system... not really anything new with this case. Awards are often quite high on any kind of damages. I don't necessarily agree with the amount, but glad she lost the case. I'd say a more realistic amount might be $20k to $50k. However, I don't know all the details either... if she really served out thousands of songs... downloaded by possibly millions of users... at $1 per... maybe the judgement is in-line with damages. But, since she was only convicted of like 22 songs... it does seem high.

[Harvey_Danger]

@SteveW928

"The artists (if they feel they aren't getting a fair deal) should sell direct, etc. If they can't pull this off, then they DO need the industry... and maybe they ARE getting a fair deal."

You clearly have no understanding of the way the extortionist music industry works (or, apparently, society in general). Nobody ever gets a fair deal. The only ones that make any kind of real profit are the massive, capitalism-shaming record labels.

But then again, someone who has displayed such shameless and ignorant black-and-white thinking in all of his other posts cannot be expected to understand reason. Go play on your iTunes and let the big kids have a discussion now.

[sentinel1759]

@Dr_Zinj

"Second, the precedent for damages awarded is supposed to be $750 to $30,000 per infraction. At the maximum, Ms Thomas should have been fined no more than $780,000. The minimum would have been $18,800."

First off this is incorrect. The highest amount that could have been set by the Jury would have been $150,000 per song.

Secondly it was just announced that she plans to appeal (obviously) and one of the reasons will be the ridiculously high amount of the fines.

F U C K the RIAA

[SteveW928]

@ Harvey_Danger -

What does it matter if/how the music industry is extorting anyone. If they are doing something illegal, then pass a law and convict them. Stealing music just makes you a criminal... it doesn't fix anything you think is going on in the industry.

I'm not really sure what your point is. Either A) the artists need the industry in some way... or B) they don't and could sell direct. If they can do B, then they should and the evil 'record industry' will go out of business.

[crazzycorbe]

overkill much?

[A41202813]

RIAA, Keep Up The Good Work.

You Only Have 6 Billion More Cases To Go.

[SteveW928]

Nah... I'd guess if they prosecute and win just a few hundred cases... it will eliminate the majority of the theft going on. As you can see from this blog, part of the problem is that so many people don't think it is theft. If they start to see it as such, and the penalties are stiff... many will think twice and buy their music (there is a novel concept... but maybe I'm just old fashioned... imagine, paying for something I want rather than stealing it).

[A41202813]

@by SteveW928 June 19, 2009 3:17 PM PDT

Is Irony A "Novel Concept" For You To ?

[SteveW928]

@ A41202813 -

Nah, I got your irony... I'm just disagreeing with it and commenting on it.

[A41202813]

@by SteveW928 June 23, 2009 12:24 PM PDT

Please, Do Me A Favor.

There Is Someone Called doctortecate, Who Have Posted For This Thread A Couple Of Times.

If You Please, Respond Honestly To The Questions Posted There.

Please And Thank You.

[A41202813]

@Steve Wilkinson

Sorry, Do Not Bother.

I Read Your Prior Post About Radio Taping.

All People Here Are Really Deep In This Discussion, One Way Or Another, And You Seem Surprisingly Polite.

Bye.