...And Justice For All

Sorry, no Under The Covers for today (actually you can download one cover, but still...). You see, I've just read the following story and was way pissed off to make my usual post. Read on and judge for yourselves. Comments are always welcome.

Jammie Thomas (born 1977) is a Native American single mother of four from Brainerd, Minnesota, and works for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians in their Department of Natural Resources and Environment. Thomas was sued by major record labels for copyright infringement, by illegal downloading and "sharing" of songs, in Duluth, Minnesota.

On October 4, 2007, the final day of her trial, presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Davis, the jury returned a verdict against her and awarded statutory damages in the amount of $9,250 for willfully infringing each of the 24 songs, for a total of $222,000. The infringed works included songs by such bands as Aerosmith, Green Day, and Guns N' Roses on Kazaa (RIP).

The judge in Thomas' trial ordered a retrial because recent case law has cast doubt on the theory of "making available" as sufficient for infringement. However, a new lawyer, a new jury, and a new trial were not enough to save Jammie Thomas-Rasset. On June 15, 2009 in a repeat of the verdict from her first federal trial, Thomas-Rasset was found liable for willfully infringing all 24 copyrights controlled by the four major record labels at issue in the case. The jury awarded the labels damages totaling a whopping $1.92 million ($80,000 per song).

I'd love to see how RIAA plans to collect this money...

Dead Kennedys - I Fought The Law (The Clash cover)
Iggy Pop - Get The Money
Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)
Space - Money
Milburn - What Will You Do (When The Money Goes)
Hard-Fi vs. Jay Z vs. Abba vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Flying Lizards - The Money Song (team9 Mashup)



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