If you haven’t heard about this story yet, then you might be an anti-media hermit.  It’s been all over/in the news today.  Jammie Thomas-Rasset is a middle-aged mother of four from Brainerd, MN, being sued by the RIAA for illegally downloading (and allegedly distributing) 24 or so copyrighted songs through a social media sharing program called Kazaa.  This on its own is not unique, since thousands of individuals have faced lawsuits put forth by the RIAA since the early Napster days.  What is unique about the case is that it’s the first to go before a jury not once, but twice!  (Most RIAA lawsuits are settled via out-of-court settlements)

Oh, and did I mention she’s being sued for $1.92 million?

There are a lot of mixed feelings about this case.  Who’s in the wrong and the right?  On the one hand, Thomas-Rasset broke federal law.  That’s undeniable.  Yet on the other, she is the victim (more or less) of an antiquated law system that governs copyright in America.  A system that is ill-equipped (currently) to deal effectively with how people socially interact with music and art.

On the third hand (we borangs have odd anatomy), the lawsuit seems a bit harsh since few would agree the damages the RIAA (and by extension, the artists) incurred really amount to $1.92 million.  Yet on the fourth (yikes!), she was offered a settlement early on to the tune of roughly $5 thousand and refused it.  Did she dig her own hole here?

There are many, many angles to this story, but no doubt it will affect the future of copyright law and the use of electronic media in the future.  Below are offered numerous links to this story containing various opinions and objective reports.  Also included is a dandy little video that Thomas-Rasset made in support of her position.

What do you think about this case?  Please comment, we’d love to know!

Woman fined millions for music file-sharing in US – NME

RIAA Wins $1.92 M in File-Sharing Suit – Pitchfork

Minnesota Mom Hit With $1.92 Million Fine For Illegal File Sharing – Rolling Stone

Download decision: Its meaning for music industry and consumers – MinnPost

The much maligned RIAA comes to town – Minneapolis Metblogs

RIAA earns itself $1.92 million in MN court case – Perfect Porridge

If anyone finds anymore good links to this story, do tell and I’ll post them along with the rest.

Here’s just for kicks:

posted June 19th, 2009 at 1:55 pm Music News RIAA