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Comment Re:One word (Score 1) 437

by MadHakish (#30995384) Attached to: Amazon Surrenders To Macmillan On eBook Pricing
The RIAA are lawyers..

But new artists want to. They want to make music, not worry about distribution or marketing. Nor do they even have experience in that.

Have you met the "artists" you claim are seeking out labels? One could easily argue the opposite is true, that real musicians do not seek out labels and record contracts, that in fact those activities are reserved for the untalented whose prowess as a musician is not great enough to earn them deserved recognition. The "real" talent cares not for contracts, marketing, market penetration, audience share, etc. etc.. They "just want to dance".
Education

Submission + - HCL CEO Says Most American Tech Grads Unemployable 1

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "When questioned about his firm's U.S. hiring, Information Week reports that Vineet Nayar, the CEO of outsourcing giant HCL Technologies, showed he can stereotype with the best of them, telling a NYC audience that most American tech grads are "unemployable". Explaining that Americans are far less willing than students from developing economies like India, China, and Brazil to master the "boring" details of tech process and methodology, the HCL chief added that most Americans are just too expensive to train. HCL, which was reportedly awarded a secretive $170 million outsourcing contract by Microsoft last April, gets a personal thumbs-up for "walking-the-extra-mile" from Steve Ballmer, who BTW was busy last week pitching more H-1B visas as the cure for America's job ills at The National Summit."
The Courts

Submission + - How RIAA Case Should Have Played Out (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "If a regular 'country lawyer' like myself had taken a case like the RIAA's in Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset to court, he or she would have been laughed out of the courthouse. But when it's the RIAA suing, the plaintiffs are awarded a $1.92 million verdict for infringement of $23.76 worth of song files. That's because RIAA litigation proceeds in a parallel universe, which on its face looks like litigation, but isn't. On my blog I fantasize as to how the trial would have ended had it taken place not in the 'parallel universe', but in the real world of litigation. In that world, the case would have been dismissed. And if the Judge had submitted it to the jury instead of dismissing, and the jury had ruled in favor of the RIAA, the 'statutory damages' awarded would have been less than $18,000."
Social Networks

Submission + - Where does a geek find a social life? 10

Submitted by
JustShootMe
JustShootMe writes: "So I have a question for my fellow slashdotters, and yes, I realize I am throwing myself into the lion's den covered with tasty meat flavored sauce. I have never been a very social person, preferring to throw myself into technology, therefore I've been spectacularly unsuccessful in developing any meaningful interpersonal relationships. Lately I have begun to feel that this situation is not tenable, and I would like to fix it. But I really don't know how and haven't the faintest idea where to start. I know that I am in the minority and there are many different kinds of slashdot readers, most of whom have vastly more experience in this realm than I do. So, fellow slashdotters, please tell me. How, and more importantly, where, do you meet fellow geeks, preferably including some of the opposite gender, in meatspace?"

Comment Re:Can they do anything else (Score 2, Interesting) 793

by MadHakish (#28383003) Attached to: In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000
It's civil court, by definition there is no jail as jail is a punishment for criminal acts in criminal courts. As previously stated they could slap her with contempt, but it's unclear whether they could hold her in contempt for reviolating.. Aren't they simply subject to being sued again in civil court??

Comment Can they do anything else (Score 2, Interesting) 793

by MadHakish (#28382077) Attached to: In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000
Now that they've virtually guaranteed her bankruptcy, how else could they possibly punish her? Couldn't she just go on a sharing spree and drum up attention about it? Seems that once you ruin a person, they have no more motivation to do what you want as you've already leveled the most extreme punishment.
The Courts

In Round 2, Jammie Thomas Jury Awards RIAA $1,920,000 793

Posted by timothy from the there-go-some-hearts-and-minds dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Well the price went up from $9250 per song file to $80,000 per song file, as the jury awarded the RIAA statutory damages of $1,920,000.00 for infringement of 24 MP3s, in Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset. In this trial, although the defendant had an expert witness of her own, she never called him to testify, and her attorneys never challenged the technical evidence offered by the RIAA's MediaSentry and Doug Jacobson. Also, neither the special verdict form nor the jury instructions spelled out what the elements of a 'distribution' are, or what needed to be established by the plaintiffs in order to recover statutory — as opposed to actual — damages. No doubt there will now have to be a third trial, and no doubt the unreasonableness of the verdict will lend support to those arguing that the RIAA's statutory damages theory is unconstitutional." Update: 06/19 01:39 GMT by T : Lots more detail at Ars Technica, too.

Comment What more could they do now? (Score 1) 1

by MadHakish (#28381709) Attached to: Jammie Thomas hit with $1.92 million verdict
They've already financially ruined her life, what's to stop her from going out and continuing to download/share and advertise that fact as a big fuck you to the RIAA? NewYorkCountryLawyer, What say you about civil court damages for repeat offenders? - she can't go to jail right? What else could they possibly do if she went ballistic w/ sharing? They'll obviously never get their money.

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