Monday, October 8, 2007

Digital Piracy on the Run? A Big Win for Musical IP Holders

The first courtroom case against digital piracy by an individual consumer resulted in a huge win for the plaintiffs, holders of intellectual property for music.

Four major record companies — EMI Group, Sony, Bertelsmann AG and Warner Music Group all joined in the suit against Jammie Thomas. Charged with illegally uploading 24 tracks that could be downloaded by others for free, Ms. Thomas now faces a fine of $220,000. Ouch! This verdict will probably cause many others to settle out of court, and hopefully will encourage more people to think twice before stealing the copyrighted property of others.

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