Will Landmark File-Sharing Suit Have an Impact?

October 8th, 2007

The verdict is in, history has been made, and the reaction is flooding in. The Recording Industry Association of America got the victory it was hoping for last week when a jury ruled against Jammie Thomas, a 30-year-old mother from Minnesota. But will the publicity backlash be worth the $220,000 in fines? And will college kids, perhaps the largest demographic of pirates, be deterred by a ruling against a mom found guilty of sharing music on an Indian reservation?The plaintiffs, which included Virgin Records, Sony BMG, Capitol Records, Arista Records, Warner Bros., UMG Recordings, and Interscope Records, claimed Thomas distributed 1,702 copyrighted audio files on file-sharing network Kazaa in 2005. They asked for $3.9 million dollars, plus legal fees. Despite not getting that amount, the RIAA expressed approval of the outcome.

“When the evidence is clear, we will continue to bring legal actions against those individuals who have broken the law,” the RIAA said in a statement. “This program is important to securing a level playing field for legal online music services and helping ensure that record companies are able to invest in new bands of tomorrow.”

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