DoJ Defends $1.92 Million RIAA Verdict

Death Metal points out a CNet report saying that the Justice Department has come out in favor of the $1.92 million verdict awarded to the RIAA in the Jammie Thomas-Rasset case. Their support came in the form of a legal brief filed on Friday, which notes, "Congress took into account the need to deter the millions of users of new media from infringing copyrights in an environment where many violators believe that they will go unnoticed." It also says, "The Copyright Act's statutory damages provision serves both to compensate and deter. Congress established a scheme to allow copyright holders to elect to receive statutory damages for copyright infringement instead of actual damages and profits because of the difficulty of calculating and proving actual damages."

Comments

VERY dangerous precedent.

[seeker_1us]

Now what will stop douchebags like Rupert Murdoch from suing an individual for millions of dollars if that individual makes a webpage with quotes having more than a few words from one of Murdoch's newspaper stories?

Re:A bill of _fucking_ rights?

[justinlee37]

You don't have to be rich to get fucked ... if you're handsome! Being funny may also possibly work out.