Comment Re:Confusing (Score 1) 215
As far as the time period mentioned in the summary, 20 years (english units) ~ 20 metric years.
Submission + - FSF Helps Jammie Thomas Get Expert vs. RIAA (blogspot.com)
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "With a $3000 grant in hand from the Expert Witness Defense Fund administered by the Free Software Foundation to help defendants in RIAA lawsuits, Jammie Thomas has asked the Court for an extension of time for discovery to enable her to retain an expert witness. The first time around, in her October, 2007, trial, she was unable to afford an expert. That verdict has since been set aside, and a new trial scheduled for March 9th of this year. This will be the second case in which the FSF has lent a hand, the first being UMG Recordings v. Lindor, where it contributed $2046.92 for the expert and $750.00 for the tech consultant. FSF's executive director Peter Brown told p2pnet today that 'Our concern was how the RIAA is trying to use this sledge-hammer against the poorest people in society to set precedents in copyright' and that 'the FSF still needs contributions so the fund can be used to help other people'."
Comment Re:Thanks for stealing! (Score 1) 164
So let's consider the case where more purchased music is paid for/downloaded instead of being purchased as a CD. A distributor that handles CD's find themselves with 1000 employees when they now need only 600. They lay off 400 employees because the business model has changed. Your fiance gets to look for a new job because.....
Comment Re:Any ideas WHY the RIAA's decisionmaking is so b (Score 2, Funny) 209
Sounds like you are looking for an explanation from Matt "The Dentist" Oppenheim, who directs the HRO team and local counsel. Based on his demeanor in the Joel Tenenbaum deposition in this case, he appears to have gone from just plain nasty to borderline obsessive.
Submission + - RIAA Hearing Next Week To Be Televised (blogspot.com)
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "One commentator labels it 'another fly in the RIAA's ointment'. In SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, the Boston, Massachusetts, RIAA case in which the defendant is represented by Harvard law professor Charles Nesson and a group of his students, the Judge has ruled that the hearing scheduled for January 22nd will be televised over the internet. The hearing will relate to Mr. Tenenbaum's counterclaims against the record companies and against the RIAA. In her 11-page opinion (PDF), District Judge Nancy Gertner labeled as 'curious' the record companies' opposition to televising the proceedings, since their professed reason for bringing the cases is deterrence, 'a strategy [which] effectively relies on the publicity arising from this litigation'."
Submission + - Entire Transcript of RIAA's Only Trial Now Online (blogspot.com)
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The entire transcript of the RIAA's 'perfect storm', its first and only trial, which resulted in a $222,000 verdict in a case involving 24 MP3's having a retail value of $23.76, is now available online. After over a year of trying, we have finally obtained the transcript of the Duluth, Minnesota, jury trial which took place October 2, 2007, to October 4, 2007, in Capitol Records v. Thomas. Its 643 pages represent a treasure trove for (a) lawyers representing defendants in other RIAA cases, (b) technologists anxious to see how a MediaSentry investigator and the RIAA's expert witness combined to convince the jurors that the RIAA had proved its case, and (c) anybody interested in finding out about such things as the early-morning October 4th argument in which the RIAA lawyer convinced the judge to make the mistake which forced him to eventually vacate the jury's verdict, and the testimony of SONY BMG's Jennifer Pariser in which she 'misspoke' according to the RIAA's Cary Sherman when she testified under oath that making a copy from one's CD to one's computer is 'stealing'. The transcript was a gift from the 'Joel Fights Back Against RIAA' team defending SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, in Boston, Massachusetts. I have the transcript in 3 segments: October 2nd (278 pages(PDF), October 3rd (263 pages)(PDF), and October 4th (100 pages)(PDF)."
