Verdict Reached In RIAA Trial

jemtallon writes "The jury in the previously mentioned Captiol v Thomas story has reached a verdict. They have found in favor of the plaintiffs, Capitol, and ordered that she pay a $222,000 fine for 24 cases of copyright infringement."

Comments

Re:Unfortunately inevitable...

[dirk]

Another interesting thing is that, averaged out, this adds up to $9250 per infringement. At that price the defendant could have physically stolen about 600 copies of each work (assuming around $15 per work). So it pays to remember that the fines for physically stealing copyrighted works are much less than infringing on them.
I really hate this lame comparison. She was not sued for downloading songs, but for distributing songs. Was it too much? Probably. But comparing it to stealing physical CDs is meaningless, since they are 2 completely different activities. If you really want a comparison, it would be closest to her making and selling physical CDs, since she was distributing songs (and no, I'm not saying it's a perfect comparison, but it's probably the closest).

Re:Can she still file bankruptcy?

[stuboogie]

You are in good financial shape by the sound of it. However, there are many, many people out there who cannot even afford
to save for emergencies, retirement or anything else. They live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet. What happens when their car breaks down and they
can't get to work or to the store? They put the charge on the card. What happens if their back goes out at work and they are laid up
for two months getting short-term disability from their employer that isn't even half of what they actually make? They use their card
to buy the groceries and pay the electric bill.

It is easy to sit back and point at others and say they should be more responsible when you are not in the position of losing
everything due to bad luck. There are many who are just plain irresponsible with their credit, and much of that can be credited (pun intended)
to the CC companies and the tactics they use. Also, the lack of education for young adults on how to be financially responsible doesn't help.

No one forces you to place charges on your CC. That is true. But for many of the CC companies' target customers, they are hovering
at the break even point week in and week out. The CC is the little crutch that allows them to get by till payday,
just as the CC company wants it. Then, one bad thing happens and you are slowly sinking into the debt pit and the CC companies
are waiting to start shoveling the dirt in on top of you.

I have little sympathy for those who live beyond their means just to have an image of success. I have NO sympathy for the
blood-sucking parasites that run the CC companies.

Re:Can she still file bankruptcy?

[Arterion]

You've obviously never been in a pinch, where the only reason you had food was because of your credit card. And, no, it's not because you're better than anyone, it's because you're lucky.