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Jammie Thomas: Guilty?

October 5th, 2007

A question posed by jurors at the trial of RIAA victim Jammie Thomas suggests they’re seriously considering finding her guilty as charged - that’s to say, guilty of copyright infringement, says Wired’s David Kravets from Duluth, Minnesota, where it’s winding up.

They’ve asked US district judge Michael Davis to, “instruct them on the minimum amount of damages they could render,” says the story, going on:

The verdict form said if jurors believe Thomas’ file sharing on Kazaa was “willful,” they can ding her for up to $150,000 for each of the 24 violations in the case. But the form left off the minimum, $750, per violation.

“They just want to know what the bottom figure is for willful,” the judge told lawyers during a brief proceeding.

She has 24 counts lodged against her.

But if the jury does vote in favour of Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the news will spread like wild-fire on- and offline and hatred of the RIAA and the companies which keep it alive will mushroom exponentially, with all that implies.

Few people who are familiar with the four-year sue ‘em all war believe the labels are justified in waging it and a win for the Big 4 could easily turn Thomas into a cause - a martyr, in effect - prompting a far more intensified and widespread boycott of corporate music product than exists at the moment.

Entry Filed under: Blowin' up the blogosphere