$9,250 For Each Infringement of Copyright

Wow.

Jammie Thomas, a single mom from Brainerd, lost her courtroom fight with six record companies who sued her for copyright infringement by downloading the music from a file-sharing site(s) and offering them online. The article notes that many defendants have settled complaints for a few thousand dollars, but she decided to take them on, and allege she did nothing wrong.

That didn't work out so good.

The six companies alleged she shared over 1700 songs, however they only went after her for 24. Total award: $222,000.

Part of the evidence presented by the companies was testimony from an Internet provider and a security firm, linking the username and IP address to Thomas.

They also said they sent her a warning in 2005, telling her she was violating their copyrights, after which she claimed she suffered a hard drive failure and replaced it.

"I don't think the jury believed my client regarding the events concerning the replacement of the hard drive," (her attorney Brian) Toder said.

I don't think they believed her either.

posted by Dave In Texas at 03:54 PM

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