RIAA vs. Jammie Thomas round 2 - Verdict

[legionaire45]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/06/jammie-thomas-retrial-verdict.ars

Personally, I don't think that piracy is right. Not so much because it hurts the lard-assed executives milking their employees for all they are worth but because it hurts the artists, the musicians, the developers, the proletariat - whatever.

At the same time, I think that this trial shows how completely unreasonable the system has become. If a person physically stole some CDs they would never be fined this much. If a person stole the CDs and started handing out bootlegged copies, they wouldn't be fined this much. And yet, just because the theft occurred online it is perfectly legal to give out these staggeringly large penalties. Just because digitals copies were made available, it is perfectly reasonable to ruin this person's life.

Apparently the RIAA has somehow convinced the federal government that it should completely ignore the 8th Amendment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution ) when someone steals $24 worth of music.

[Daishi]

What the fuck. This is messed up man. 80,000 dollars for a song that probably cost ~1.50? That's bullshit.

[flibitijibibo]

If I were an interviewer: "So, even during the recession, you were willing to fuck this person hard enough to try and put her on the streets for the rest of their life, just so you could make an extra undeserved and unnecessary buck?"
RIAA: "... Recession?"

[thehoodedsmack]

All digital music should be made free, thank you very much. CD sales can still exist, because our parents and grandparents aren't going to be as tech-savvy as the youth. But artists need to get back to making money through live shows and appearances, and spend less time in celebrity-esque limelight. Music piracy isn't going to stop. Ever. Time to get with the program.

[/two cents]

flibitijibibo makes a good point: this is a terrible time to be fucking the life out of somebody, if there ever was a good time. $80,000 is an obscene amount.

[Jean-Luc]

$80,000 is an obscene amount.
That's just per song. She's being fined almost $2,000,000

[Disaster]

Wow, greedy bastards

I bet they want people to pirate songs.

[SnaFuBAR]

let the RIAA get on some 80k/song bs with me, fuckers would be getting car bombed.

[Phopojijo]

Yeah... the problem is... the artists ARE making money from the live shows and such...

http://torrentfreak.com/riaa-keeps-settlement-money-080228/

They sure are not making money from the cases... and are threatening lawsuit.

****

It should be noted that the RIAA might not collect the fine, and the Jury was the one who fined her 80k/song.

[Disaster]

let the RIAA get on some 80k/song bs with me, fuckers would be getting car bombed.
:mech2:

[Sel]

canaddadadadadadad


yeahhh

[Inferno]

If that shit happened to me I'd go at them with a w1200.

Them being the RIAA.

[rossmum]

you probably wouldn't know how to find one http://sa.tweek.us/emots/images/emot-laugh.gif

someone needs to put these jumped-up greedy pricks back in their rightful place

[Inferno]

:mad:

[PenGuin1362]

let the RIAA get on some 80k/song bs with me, fuckers would be getting car bombed.

Down. lets fuck shit up.

[Xetsuei]

8th Amendment? What 8th Amendment?

Seriously, with any of these cases. You CANNOT justify fining $80,000 per $1.50 song.

[SnaFuBAR]

$1.50?

i pay 99 cents on itunes.

[Jean-Luc]

$1.50?

i pay 99 cents on itunes.

I pay 79 cents on Zune Marketplace :realsmug:

[Masterz1337]

Snaf gets to play his music in a real music player :p

[p0lar_bear]

RIAA. Music industry mafia.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're bribing people to get away with these ridiculous lawsuits.

[Jean-Luc]

Snaf gets to play his music in a real music player :p

Zune is just as good, if not better depending on what you want out of it. :mad:

[Timo]

Thread is about rediculous fines, not Apple vs Microsoft (stopping dis before its started).

Move to New Zealand! It's a much nicer place down here if you don't mind 10GB caps.

[rossmum]

Wow, even ours is better than that. :P

[Bodzilla]

Artists make their money from their tours and their shows.
The CD's promote the band to get people to the shows and so does piracy.

[rossmum]

Not to mention that no amount of lawsuits at all will ever put a stop to piracy.

With movies, I can sort of understand it. With games, I can sort of understand it. (Although in both cases, I still think the respective authorities/industry groups are going about it the entire wrong way.)

Music? No, not at all.