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Will Obama's DOJ Intervene To Help RIAA?

Posted by kdawson on from the jury-is-out dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Cloud, a Pennsylvania case in which the RIAA's statutory damages theory — seeking from 2,200 to 450,000 times the amount of actual damages — is being tested, the US Department of Justice has just filed papers indicating that it is considering intervening in the case to defend the constitutionality of such awards, and requesting an extension of time (PDF) in which to decide whether such intervention 'is appropriate.' This is an early test of whether President Obama will make good on his promises (a) not to allow industry insiders to participate in cases affecting the industry they represented (the 2nd and 3rd highest DOJ officials are RIAA lawyers) and (b) to look out for ordinary citizens rather than big corporations."

3 of 546 comments (clear)

  1. The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises by snarfies · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can track the progress of Obama's many campaign promises at http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/ - its pretty interesting.

  2. Re: The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promis by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Informative

    politifact.com: owned by St. Petersburg Times

    St. Petersburg Times: owned by the Poynter Institute

    The Poynter Institute is a journalism school well know for its uncommon (in today's world) approach of unbiased reporting and the primacy of fact over sensationalism.

    Gotta say, props to you for linking to a neutral site, when there are so many sites "Obama broken promises" sites maintained by partisan hacks.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  3. Re:That's not even possible... by NewYorkCountryLawyer · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...seeking from 2,200 to 450,000 times the amount of actual damages...

    I've only seen up to 8000, anything over 9000 would just be ridiculous.

    :)

    But seriously, the actual damages are around 35 cents per download. (70 cent wholesale price minus ~35 cents expenses=35 cents lost profits). The now discarded Jammie Thomas verdict was 23,000 times the actual damages (9250 per song file).

    Interestingly, when the record companies are defendants they sing a different tune, complaining that even 10 times the actual damages is unconstitutional.

    --
    Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful