Thomas-Rasset filesharing case still ongoing

The long-running court cases of file-share Jammie Thomas-Rasset against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is still making news, this time from Ars Technica. Federal Judge Michael Davis on Friday said she lied in her trial testimony and that her "past refusal to accept responsibility for her actions raises the need for strong deterrence."

Thomas-Rasset was found guilty of sharing digital songs over the KaZaA service. The Judge twice overturned the jury's decision to fine her nearly $2 million, then $222,000, deeming such fines unconstitutional. The latest verdict, with an associated $1.5 million award, was again slashed, down to $54,000 this time.

"The Court has merely reduced the jury’s award to the maximum amount permitted under our Constitution," the judge stated in his ruling. It represents a fine of $2,250 per song. It is also three times the minimum statutory damages of $750. Thomas-Rasset made it clear during the trials that she can't and won't pay the reduced amount, or even smaller one as offered by the music industry in settlements.

If the saga lives on, it will do so in a federal appeals court.

By Electronista Staff