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$1.9 Million Award In Thomas Case Raises Constitutional Questions
Techdirt points out that the EFF is examining the constitutionality of the recent $1.9 million verdict awarded in favor of the RIAA against Jammie Thomas. While on the surface it may seem that this excessive award should be easy to overturn since grossly excessive punitive damage awards are considered to violate the Due Process clause of the US Constitution, the Supreme Court seems to have been ignoring precedent and upholding copyright's importance at any cost. "Given the size of the statutory damages award, Ms. Thomas-Rasset's legal team will likely be seriously considering a constitutional challenge to the verdict. A large and disproportionate damage award like this raises at least two potential constitutional concerns. First, the Supreme Court has made it clear that 'grossly excessive' punitive damage awards (e.g., $2 million award against BMW for selling a repainted BMW as 'new') violate the Due Process clause of the US Constitution. In evaluating whether an award 'grossly excessive,' courts evaluate three criteria: 1) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's actions, 2) the disparity between the harm to the plaintiff and the punitive award, and 3) the similarity or difference between the punitive award and civil penalties authorized or imposed in comparable situations. Does a $1.92 million award for sharing 24 songs cross the line into 'grossly excessive?' And do these Due Process limitations apply differently to statutory damages than to punitive damages? These are questions that the court will have to decide if the issue is raised by Ms. Thomas-Rasset's attorneys."
Sickest thing is that its all this for a handful of mediocre songs.
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People only fight when they have nothing left to loose.
If you have nothing left to loose, you are probably done fighting.
It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
The definition of "conservative" has really changed a lot since I was young.
Free Martian Whores!
1. once upon a time, there was a set of gentleman's agreements agreed upon between large publishers of vinyl and plastic cassettes
2. poof: teh intarwebs appears
3. new ability: every pock marked teenager in the world now has greater distribution powers than bertlesmann + time warner + every publisher that has ever existed: "hey my friend in novosibirsk, this is cape town: you want the entire creative output of that new zealand lounger singer bic runga? here ya go"
4. response of publishers to new ability: apply to every single pock marked teenager the set of rules agreed upon between rich executives in oak paneled golf clubs over mint juleps
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I have a Green Day album and a couple Aerosmith albums. I figure to send it back with a suitably sardonic letter referencing the fact that I no longer want their music, and if they are in such financial hardship, they can re-sell it to help them put food on the table.
Don't forget to rip it to MP3 first.
== Jez ==
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While you lose your mind, I loose mine.
It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.