32 year old woman fined $2.4m for piracy (1 Viewer)

[Ben Netanyahu]

A US jury has ordered a 32-year-old woman to pay $US1.92 million ($A2.4 million) in damages for illegally downloading 24 songs in a high-profile digital piracy case.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a single mother of four from the US state of Minnesota, was found liable for using the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing network to download the songs over the internet.

The jury took just under five hours to reach its verdict.

It ordered Thomas-Rasset to pay $US1.92 million dollars -- or $US80,000 ($A100,000) per song -- to six record companies: Capitol Records, Sony BMG Music, Arista Records, Interscope Records, Warner Bros. Records and UMG Recordings.

Thomas-Rasset had been convicted previously, in October 2007, and ordered to pay $US220,000 ($A275,000) in damages but the judge who presided over that trial threw out the verdict calling it "wholly disproportionate" and "oppressive."

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major music labels have brought suit against thousands of people for illegally downloading and sharing music, with most agreeing to settlements of between $3000 - $5000.

Thomas-Rasset was the first among those being sued to refuse a settlement and instead took the case to court.

In December, the RIAA said it will stop suing people who download music illegally and focus instead on getting internet Service Providers to take action.

The move away from litigation represented a major shift in strategy for the music industry group, which had filed lawsuits against some 35,000 people for online music piracy since 2003.

Music pirate fined $2.4m

Jesus Christ. How could anyone take part in a jury and reach a verdict like that?
Looks like that type of judgement is a fringe judgement, but still...

 

[Laika_]

wot

 

[Uncle]

lol kazaa

 

[volition]

This is an example of rent seeking caused by state provision of intellectual property

 

[withoutaface]

I'm just lollin' that she continued downloading shit illegally after she'd already almost been forced to pay $220K.

 

[L]

fucking pirates

 

[volition]

I think those record companies are just using state provision of IP to try and hold on to their profit margins without actually doing innovative work to provide a service for their customers. Notice how the technology for creating music and producing the actual CD has become so much cheaper and more accessible over the last 10-15 years, but the prices haven't dropped that much? That's because the state grants monopoly protections to these record companies.

A much better way to conduct business is where the company tries to actually connect with the consumer and give them a reason to want to pay for a product. Look at Trent Reznor for example.

Michael Masnick The Trent Reznor case study
Trent Reznor To Fans: “Steal, Steal and Steal Some More”

 

[Serius]

Fuck these cunts, i hope their fucked up companies and way of doing business comes crashing to the ground and i am going to be laughing the whole way. I dont care if they start offering us legal alternatives, why should i do them a favour when this is how they treat their potential customers. Rather than offering a solution to the problem they sue normal hardworking people for ridiculous amounts and use their money to muscle in their political agenda.

They have alienated their consumers too far now, their business is going to sink and nobody is going to have anything to do with them. I dont care what business model they come up with next, even if its something like pay $10 a month and download all the music you want, fuck them this is how they treat their consumers? i am just going to download the music for free....they can complain all they want, i cant hear them over all the downloading iam doing. Their companies will die and nobody will even notice.

 

[spence]

Fuck these cunts, i hope their fucked up companies and way of doing business comes crashing to the ground and i am going to be laughing the whole way. I dont care if they start offering us legal alternatives, why should i do them a favour when this is how they treat their potential customers. Rather than offering a solution to the problem they sue normal hardworking people for ridiculous amounts and use their money to muscle in their political agenda.

They have alienated their consumers too far now, their business is going to sink and nobody is going to have anything to do with them. I dont care what business model they come up with next, even if its something like pay $10 a month and download all the music you want, fuck them this is how they treat their consumers? i am just going to download the music for free....they can complain all they want, i cant hear them over all the downloading iam doing. Their companies will die and nobody will even notice.

Why so serius?

 

[DavidBenGurion]

rather than offering a solution to the problem they sue normal hardworking people for ridiculous amounts and use their money to muscle in their political agenda.

how true comrade! let us pray to das kapital!

WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS!