Submission + - Defense Asks Judge to Overrule RIAA Payout
Damocles the Elder writes: Well, the RIAA won, but now a Minnesota woman is appealing the judge's decision on the basis that $222,000 is unconstitutionally expensive for 24 songs. FTA:
Naturally, the RIAA is claiming the argument is "baseless", but if this gets set as a precedent, it won't matter if the RIAA wins the lawsuits if they're only getting a couple dollars a song. Needless to say, many people will be following this with interest.The petition to U.S. District Judge Michael Davis, among other things, challenges the constitutionality of the 1976 Copyright Act, the law under which the RIAA sued Jammie Thomas of Minnesota, as well as over 20,000 other defendants. The $750 to $150,000 fines the act authorizes for each download is unconstitutionally excessive and against U.S. Supreme Court precedent, wrote Brian Toder, Thomas' attorney.