A Minnesota woman who had been convicted of violating copyright laws by downloading music files has been granted a new trial, after the judge said he made an error in his jury instructions that may have prejudiced the outcome. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis on Wednesday granted Jammie Thomas’ motion for a new trial in the case, brought by the Recording Industry Association of America that alleged she illegally downloaded copywritten material off the peer to peer site Kazaa. Additionally, the judge urged Congress to redefine the definition of peer-to-peer piracy and prevent exorbitant fines to be levied against other defendants in similar situations, according to his ruling.
Thomas was initially found guilty of downloading 24 songs and ordered her ordered to pay $222,000 to six record companies. That equates to $9,250 per downloaded song. With the order of the new trial, Davis declined to rule on the fine, instead deferring that decision to the next round of litigation. Davis’s declared the mistrial because he said he believes he misled the jury in the initial court case when he told the jury that sharing music was the same as distributing it.
Source: CRN
No comments:
Post a Comment