Former filesharing service Kazaa has released an app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. The app allows subscribers to listen to an unlimited amount of music for a monthly fee. It can download songs and save playlists for offline listening. The Kazaa app also provides a social media function that shows subscribers what songs their friends are listening to or recommend.
The now three-year old RIAA versus Jammie Thomas-Rasset case has resurfaced after a failed third attempt at arbitration. Music labels are complaining about having to cover the costs of the third meeting. The judge, Michael Davis, had ruled that an arbiter, or Special Master, oversee the meeting and the plaintiff (RIAA) cover his payment, at $400 per hour.
Video site Joost is shopping itself around to cable and satellite TV providers as their possible hub for Internet streaming, sources claim. The company has been struggling to gain share in the face of competiton by Hulu and YouTube and is believed by CNET to be looking to a deal to save itself. While it's not certain how likely this may be, metered Internet advocate Time Warner Cable is unusually seen as one of those interested in buying Joost.
A ruling in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may be overturned and set a precedent for file sharing, according to remarks made by the presiding judge in the case. District Judge Michael Davis now expresses doubts over a decision which fined defendant Jammie Thomas $222,000 for allegedly trading 24 songs through KaZaA, arguing that a closer review of the US Copyright Act used as the foundation of the case suggests that a retrial may be necessary. The Act requires actual proof of an illegal transfer rather than the simpler act of exposing the content through a public folder. Without the former evidence, the previous decision against Thomas may no longer hold weight, according to Judge Davis.
The Department of Justice has come out in support of damages awarded to the RIAA, a brief from the government body suggests. Jammie Thomas, a single mother who was successfully sued by the RIAA for sharing music on Kazaa, and was initially fined $9,250 per song for a total of $220,000. As a part of her appeal though, she challenged the constitutionality of the judgment, noting that the Copyright Act only allows statutory damages between $750 and $150,000. This, Thomas claimed, meant her punishment violated the Due Process clause of the Constitution, particularly since record labels only earn an average of 70¢ on the dollar for each track.
