This seems a tad bit excessive to me

[Emily_Haines]

(CNN) -- A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the United States, her attorney said.

Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents.

She plans to appeal, he said.

Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the RIIA was "pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable."

"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," she said.

Thomas-Rasset downloaded work by artists such as No Doubt, Linkin Park, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow.

This was the second trial for Thomas-Rasset. The judge ordered a retrial in 2007 after there was an error in the wording of jury instructions.

The fines jumped considerably from the first trial, which granted just $220,000 to the recording companies.

Thomas-Rasset is married with four children and works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota.


Seriously WTF!!! How does a mom with four kids making $10 a hour pay this thing off even with 50 lifetimes at her disposal. The corruption in the USA is unbelievable. Anybody that thinks this is a fair punishment needs their head examined.

[wtf]

you ever see the south park episode where they talk about the "hardships" that the recording artist have to endure due to downloading?

* britney spears cannot get gold plumbing in her 747, only gold plated
* the list goes on

[Willie Bee]

I've got no sympathy for the recording industry nor do I have any for this woman. The recording industry needs to put stuff out in 'non-recordable/non-downloadable' formats, take better control of their own product. If the bank down the street never locks its doors or the vault, why should we feel sorry for them when they get robbed?

Is that fine silly? Yes. But the silliest and worst part is no matter what the fine was in this case, it will never be consistent from one guilty verdict to the next.

[BrentCrude]

It happened in my neck of the woods.

It all took place where I live up in the sticks in northern Minnesota.I have a hunch the music industry designed it where they wanted to go after some down and outer from the boondocks.The movie Fargo was mostly filmed right down the street from where this gal lives.Good luck on the music industry ever recovering much compensation from her.The only way she could ever pay them back is if the gal that lives down the street from her that won one of the biggest powerball jackpots in history paid her fine off.My 2nd cousin is a UPS driver and delivers stuff to both these people,the jackpot winner and the music downloader.It's pretty tough to get much back if you garnish part of a check from someone working at a Subway fast food outlet.She could only afford a really crappy public defender and it was like the Pittsburgh Steelers playing the small town high school football team.The music industry lawyers steamrolled right over her.All it is was a warning and example to millions of other people that the music industry is not to be messed with.They will never go after another easy mark with no money again.It was a one time deal with the music industry.They will just go after the occassional bigger fish where they know they have a solid case.They do not want to lose a case where it sends a signal to everyone that you can't get in trouble for copying their product.


I heard next week up here we are having a trial for a maid that works at the local Indian casino-hotel who tore the do not remove under penalty of law tags from pillows and mattresses.

[BrentCrude]

Emily,if you live in Thunder Bay and go shopping at places like Best Buy in Duluth and buy CD discs to download music,they will probably arrest you at the Grand Portage border going back home.On weekends the mall parking lot in Duluth is half full of cars from Thunder Bay.Do you know the 5?NHL playing Staal brothers?

[Emily_Haines]

Everytime I go to the US I get my car search by the homeland security fuks. I asked the prick last time I come through here at least five times in the last year and you search my car all five times and find nothing. You would think you could look that shit up on the computer but I think you guys just like fukking with people. These fuks are all collection of society rejects and misfits that think the are gods cause they can leagally harass people. Mind you not that the Canadian border agents are much better but at least they don't search your car ever.

[Robyn]

Is that fine silly? Yes. But the silliest and worst part is no matter what the fine was in this case, it will never be consistent from one guilty verdict to the next.

That's the problem with our judicial system. The opinion of one judge to the next should not be allowed.

[Robyn]

Everytime I go to the US I get my car search by the homeland security fuks. I asked the prick last time I come through here at least five times in the last year and you search my car all five times and find nothing. You would think you could look that shit up on the computer but I think you guys just like fukking with people. These fuks are all collection of society rejects and misfits that think the are gods cause they can leagally harass people. Mind you not that the Canadian border agents are much better but at least they don't search your car ever.

I used to live about 30 minutes from the Canadian border. My friends and I used to go to the bars in Canada when we turned 19. I can't tell you how many times we were searched on the way home. Ridiculous. And this was way back in the 90's.

[The General]

I think it's Emusic I purchase for my Son who gets tons of music for $25 per month. Pretty cheap do get it legally.

[Emmett Brown]

I read in a different article that she had about 1,700 songs on her PC which she was sharing through a P2P site. Thats just plain stupid to keep downloaded mp3's and downloaded movies on your PC. Let alone share them over the internet. They also offered her a settlement for about 5k. She refused

[Willie Bee]

These fuks are all collection of society rejects and misfits that think the are gods cause they can leagally harass people. Mind you not that the Canadian border agents are much better but at least they don't search your car ever.

Don't worry Emily, one of our own posters may soon come to the rescue and get all of the issues with border patrol agents on this side straightened out

That's the problem with our judicial system. The opinion of one judge to the next should not be allowed.

But isn't each case a little different? Shouldn't factors such as expressing genuine remorse for a crime committed count?

How about these examples: Let's say I go off to the ice house tomorrow afternoon, drink enough beer to put me over the legal limit, on the drive home I clip a parked car. I stop, go up to the door of the house where the car is parked and attempt to make right through my insurance to have the vehicle repaired. The homeowner calls the local sheriff anyway, the deputy comes out to invesitigate and in the process gives me a breathalyzer; I register 0.09 (Texas is 0.08). He takes me in for a DUI. I plead no contest.

A guy who was at the same bar does the same thing, drinks enough to put himself just over the limit, and he too runs into a parked car on the way home. He stops but is immediately in a beligerent shouting match with the car owner who calls the sheriff. The driver registers 0.09 like I did, but is less than cooperative with the arresting officer, kicks and cusses in the backseat of the cruiser the whole way in, has a rich daddy who hires a high-priced lawyer, pleads not guilty despite the breathalyzer and eyewitnesses, delays all of the proceedings to the hilt and is eventually found guilty.

What sentences should be passed down on the two of us?

[The HG]

Yes I saw this yesterday, it started making me nervous.

I don't know exactly how many songs I have stolen from the net over my lifetime, but my rough estimate is maybe 20,000? A quick calculation tells me they might come after me to the tune of 1.6 billion!!

I am big time but yeah, that is not the range of cash I deal in yet. Let's just say Pinny would have to increase their limits SUBSTANTIALLY before I'd have any chance of generating those kinds of winnings. If the govt comes after me, I'm done for.

I do have a question though - if I delete all the songs I stole, am I off the hook?

[reno cool]

**** the music industry. They haven't made enough money producing garbage? Music is for the people. Maybe this assholes need to get a copyright for the recording of sound. I hope nobody buys another mainstream cd again.

[betplom]

**** the music industry. They haven't made enough money producing garbage? Music is for the people. Maybe this assholes need to get a copyright for the recording of sound. I hope nobody buys another mainstream cd again.

Comrade, I couldn't agree more.

[wtf]

john lennon said the same thing, music is for everyone

that is why he never complained when someone covered his tunes

now the sharks have control

[DrStale]

That's the problem with our judicial system. The opinion of one judge to the next should not be allowed.

Gotta disagree here and Willie has a lot of good points as to why. Having no faith in judges to do their job is what creates things like the ridiculous 3 Strikes law. Every single case is different, thats why judges exist, to JUDGE all the aspects of the case because no two cases are ever alike.



As for the case, im sure the resolution is based on some sort of misguided attempt to scare other people off of the same activities, while in actuality it makes the record companies look even sleazier than before, complete misuse of the justice system.

Or maybe she deserves it for downloading Linkin Park.

[Robyn]

Gotta disagree here and Willie has a lot of good points as to why. Having no faith in judges to do their job is what creates things like the ridiculous 3 Strikes law. Every single case is different, thats why judges exist, to JUDGE all the aspects of the case because no two cases are ever alike.

The point I was making, although rather poorly, is that far too often, special interests create the law and influence the outcome. Not to mention money. Money and influence will get you out of nearly anything.


I like carebears.

[Willie Bee]

Money and influence will get you out of nearly anything.

I like carebears.

You're absolutely right.

[Robyn]

Right about money or carebears?

[DrStale]

The point I was making, although rather poorly, is that far too often, special interests create the law and influence the outcome. Not to mention money. Money and influence will get you out of nearly anything.


I like carebears.

Ah, yeah fair enough. In that aspect there needs to be some kind of consistent structure. I guess the best rationale would be that judges should base their decisions on the details of the case, rather than the details of defendant's identity and worth, though admittedly this can be a blurry distinction.

Also, the Carebear cousins were much cooler than the Carebears.

[Justin7]

What's so tough about paying 99 cents for a song? You can even listen to it before buying, and you aren't stuck with a CD full of crap.

[BestPlay2day]

If I remember, she was the only person out of over 30,000 who didn't settle and pay a $3,500 fine. She took a risk and wanted to go to court and she lost. Not like they are going to collect a fraction of the money from her anyways.

[reno cool]

What's tough is trying to scare the public by making an example of some poor shmo and creating unreasonable hardship for who ever she may be. These bastards can't wait to put a price on everything and profit from it. They just can't tolerate the notion of people doing things for each other and them not getting a cut.

I believe this is what they call intellectual property rights. Don't want people downloading that crap you call music. **** you. Don't produce it. Too much noise pollution anyway.

[reno cool]

If I remember, she was the only person out of over 30,000 who didn't settle and pay a $3,500 fine. She took a risk and wanted to go to court and she lost. Not like they are going to collect a fraction of the money from her anyways.

I wonder how this could possibly go down. Someone knocks on your door.
"We've been watching you, we have a summons and we're taking your computer."

[20Four7]

Everytime I go to the US I get my car search by the homeland security fuks. I asked the prick last time I come through here at least five times in the last year and you search my car all five times and find nothing. You would think you could look that shit up on the computer but I think you guys just like fukking with people. These fuks are all collection of society rejects and misfits that think the are gods cause they can leagally harass people. Mind you not that the Canadian border agents are much better but at least they don't search your car ever.

LOL I thought it was just me that they do that for..... they have ripped apart my truck more times than I can count and never have found a thing......

They even asked me one time where the drugs were or they would rip apart my truck... I handed them the keys and said wake me up when your done

[Robyn]

LOL I thought it was just me that they do that for..... they have ripped apart my truck more times than I can count and never have found a thing......

They even asked me one time where the drugs were or they would rip apart my truck... I handed them the keys and said wake me up when your done

Shitty thing is...you have to put everything back together again! Damn border nazis.

[topcat]

(CNN) -- A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the United States, her attorney said.

Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents.

She plans to appeal, he said.

Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the RIIA was "pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable."

"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," she said.

Thomas-Rasset downloaded work by artists such as No Doubt, Linkin Park, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow.

This was the second trial for Thomas-Rasset. The judge ordered a retrial in 2007 after there was an error in the wording of jury instructions.

The fines jumped considerably from the first trial, which granted just $220,000 to the recording companies.

Thomas-Rasset is married with four children and works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota.


Seriously WTF!!! How does a mom with four kids making $10 a hour pay this thing off even with 50 lifetimes at her disposal. The corruption in the USA is unbelievable. Anybody that thinks this is a fair punishment needs their head examined.

she will more and likely file for bankruptcy,and put all here money in someone else's name.i have done the same thing when my sister set me up with windows pie.i dont do it anymore now.how many time have you bought a tape,or cd and the singer has only one good song.i believe its a bit harsh.

[PAPSMEAR]

for some of the music around these days...I'm thinkin' they should have been paying her to download the crap