I know I’m reporting on this very late. In Virgin v Thomas, the RIAA wins a verdict of $222,000 against Jammie Thomas, a single Mom who makes under $40,000/year for 24 songs with a value of $.99/each for a total real world value of $23.76.
As an outsider, it is nearly unfathomable at how a jury could come up with this verdict even with strict instructions. Part of being a juror, is being an individual and voting your conscious too. I have been involved with lawyers through contracts but have had only one courtroom experience personally. Through that experience, I can only say that we were not allowed to see, hear or experience all information but only the information that the judge agreed on through negotiation through the attorneys. One of the things that truly baffles me is the value of the music and how that came to be so I can only guess that this must have come through instructions.
Again though, these jurors should also look at this trial in the way it can impact themselves, their children, their family members, and their friends because this kind of verdict can have very pervasive percussions.
If you’d like to see more analysis on the RIAA and it’s member companies (remember it’s made up of Sony, EMI, Warner, …) go check out Recording Industry v People. Mostly, they are just posting details on the ongoing litigation but they also occasionally post short and sweet analysis on various rulings, verdicts and such. In fact, my motivation for this post was Comments on Jury Verdict in Virgin v Thomas.
I’d love to hear any comments on the RIAA’s tactics. Feel free to post them in the comments.