Consumer Law

$1.5 million dollars for sharing 24 songs, $250,000 for a lifetime of paralysis?

By Justinian Lane

Nothing better illustrates the profound inequity of capping noneconomic damages than the verdicts against file sharers:

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman who has been fighting the recording industry over 24 songs she illegally downloaded and shared online four years ago, has lost another round in court.

A jury in Minneapolis decided today that she was liable for $1.5 million in copyright infringement damages to Capitol Records, or $62,500 for each song she illegally shared in April 2006.

Source: Jammie Thomas hit with $1.5 million verdict | Digital Media - CNET News

You tell me why a record label (who can?t prove actual damages) should be awarded seven figures, but a person put in a wheelchair for life should only receive $250k. 

Full post as published by TortDeform.com on November 04, 2010 (boomark / email).