Date: Thursday, October 18, 2007
Record File Sharing Fine for US Single Mother
Jammie Thomas, a 30-year-old single mother from Minnesota, has made legal history by being fined a record $222,000 (£109,003) for illegally downloading and sharing music.
Thomas was just one of 26,000 people prosecuted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over a four year period. However, unlike the others, she decided not to settle with the RIAA out of court. Unfortunately, this meant that her case became the first to go to trial.
Using the file sharing software Kazaa, Thomas was alleged to have shared 1,702 songs under the username Tereastarr. The vast range of music Thomas downloaded, which included songs by Destiny’s Child, Opeth and Green Day, led to six major record companies becoming involved in the case.
Thomas’s lawyer, Brian Toder, argued that the court were unable to prove she was responsible for sharing the files. Despite this claim, evidence from Thomas’s Internet Service Provider and an Internet security firm proved to convince the jury otherwise and Thomas was found guilty.
The jury were able to demand fines of between $18,000 and $3.9million and it took them over five hours to decide on the final amount. They settled on a figure of $222,000, which provided the record companies involved with $9,250 for each of the 24 songs she was alleged to have downloaded. Thomas, who has two children aged between 11 and 13, is expected to face bankruptcy over the fine, which is over five times her annual salary.
Many of the record companies involved decided to take a stand against illegal file sharing, as they believe that it damages sales. Indeed, Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, declared Thomas’s conviction a victory, “ We’re…establishing that music has value, that music is property, and that property has to be respected.” However, most critics suggest that the fines imposed are too hefty. After all, Thomas’s fine will probably remain unpaid and by bankrupting a single mother of two, the companies involved could find themselves facing a PR disaster, not a moral victory.
Sources:
Guardian
The Times
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