Tech Groups Want New Trial In Major Copyright Case
Jammie Thomas, a single mother who was fined $220,000 by a federal jury in Minnesota for allegedly sharing 24 music tracks on the Kazaa file-swapping application, might get a another day in court. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, and the U.S. Internet Industry Association filed a brief on Friday pushing for her to be given a new trial.
Thomas was found liable for unlawfully distributing music on Kazaa, notwithstanding the lack of evidence that she had in fact done so, CCIA said in a press release. Liability was based upon a jury instruction that the plaintiff record labels need not have proved that she actually distributed any music on the Internet to hold her liable. Hers was the first file-sharing case to be tried to a jury.
"If this outcome were allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent for copyright law," CCIA President Ed Black said. "Before you hold someone responsible for an offense, in this case distributing protected songs, it’s probably a good idea to prove they actually committed the offense." The groups did not take a position on the merits Thomas's liabilities and defenses. Instead, the brief argues that the jury instruction had no basis in the Copyright Act.
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