File-Sharer Ordered To Pay $1.92M

Kazaa A jury in Minneapolis has found that Jammie Thomas infringed copyright by sharing 24 tracks on Kazaa and awarded the record industry $1.92 million, or $80,000 per track.

The verdict, which came at the conclusion of a four-day trial, marked the second time a jury found Thomas liable for copyright infringement. A previous trial ended in a verdict against her and an award of $220,000, but the judge set aside that verdict after deciding that he incorrectly instructed the jury on a key legal matter.

The record labels sued or threatened to sue more than 35,000 alleged file-sharers between 2003 and late last year, when the industry announced it was going to stop pursuing individuals in court. The vast majority of people targeted by the industry agreed to pay four-figure settlements.

Thomas is the only defendant to date who has asked a jury to decide whether she's liable for copyright infringement. At trial, she argued that the evidence only linked Kazaa to her IP address, and not her personally. She testified that other people in her house could have used her computer to share music.

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