Judge lowers Jammie Thomas' piracy penalty

Last June, a federal jury in Minnesota found Jammie Thomas-Rasset liable for willful copyright infringement and ordered her to pay nearly $2 million. Michael Davis, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, chopped the amount to $54,000, or $2,250 per song. News.com reports.

The need for deterrence cannot justify a $2 million verdict for stealing and illegally distributing 24 songs for the sole purpose of obtaining free music," wrote Davis.

... It's important to note that Davis did not in any way condone illegal file sharing. He wrote that even reduced damages are still "significant and harsh." He also ordered Thomas-Rasset to never infringe the music industry's copyright again and to destroy music she obtained illegally.

emily | 8:52 AM | Copyright Protection |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/ringtonia/archives/2010/01/025360.htm