Last week the MPR did a feature on the impending trial of 30-year old single mom, Jammie Thomas who was charged with illegally downloading and sharing songs. It didn't take long for a ruling on the case - guilty. The fine was a whopping $222,000. On Friday, Jammie declared that she would not ask for financial help in paying the fine, but added, "if it comes, I'm not going to turn it down." ...
Jammie Thomas is not the first person that record labels have sued, just one of more than 26,000. Many of those folks have settled by paying the companies a few thousand dollars. Jammie Thomas does own one distinction however. She's the first person to fight back all the way to a trial. The six major record companies accused Thomas of offering 1,702 songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network but at the trial, they focused on 24 songs that the jury ruled Jammie guilty of violating the copyright on. Their verdict was for damages of $9,250 per song for a staggering total of $222,000...
The recording industry gained two victories with that ruling, there's the money but far more importantly - the legal precedent set that making copyright-protected songs available for sharing, even without proof the songs went anywhere, is an infringement on the songs' copyright. Good luck in fighting that charge in the future...
The RIAA which represents record companies may never see that $222,000 because Jammie Thomas is a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. It's somewhat doubtful that the record companies will be able to enforce the court's verdict because Thomas is an enrolled member of that American Indian tribe or band, lives on its land and works for them. While the fine is ridiculously high, the precedent set by the result of the guilty verdict is a lot steeper. This is a bad and dangerous precedent that's been set...
WCCO-TV in Minneapolis broke this story and here's some of their coverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyAZr0QDbRI ...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1701] Eli's coming: The Collegiate School of Connecticut is chartered in New Haven. The name of the school will be changed to Yale...
- 1855] Sewn up: Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor. We'll be back with more of this story after this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVSC3JiD3J8 . The Singer Sewing Machine will become the standard for all sewing machines and still is...
- 1872] Mail order is born: Aaron Montgomery starts his mail-order business with the delivery of the first mail order catalog. The firm becomes Montgomery-Ward...
- 1958] "Happy Trails": Pope Pius XII dies of kidney disease at 82 after serving as the pontiff for 19 years...1967] Latin American guerrilla Che Guevara is executed in Bolivia while trying to incite revolution. Guevara was 39...1974] Oskar Schindler dies in Frankfort, Germany at 66 from an undisclosed illness. Schindler was credited with saving the lives of over 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. In this scene from "Schindler's List", real people, not actors, are seen leaving stones on headstones of relatives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad1x0b4GBmE ...
- 1967] Red Sox rebound: Boston rebounds to take game 5 of the World Series in St. Louis as Jim Lonborg pitches a 3-hitter against the Cardinals...
- 1973] Curtains: Elvis Presley and Priscilla D-I-V-O-R-C-E after 6 years of marriage...1977] North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith retires as the winningest college basketball coach in history. The team's record under Smith: 879-254 with 2 national titles and 11 final fours...
- 1985] Strawberry Fields Forever: The official dedication of Strawberry Fields is held on what would have been John Lennon's 45th birthday. Son Sean was 10 years old. He's now 32. It was Mayor Ed Koch who named the patch of Central Park real estate in the shadows of The Dakota where John Lennon lived and died. As is the custom, there will be fans congregating there today on what would have been John's 67th birthday...
- 1985] Surrender: The hijackers of the Achille Lauro surrender after the ship docks in Port Said, Egypt...
- 2000] A hulluva feat: Brett Hull passes dad, Bobby, on the all-time scoring list, bringing him to 9th place with his 611th goal...
- 2002] Sniper rampage: A man is gunned down moments after filling his tank at a gas station in Manassas (VA) in the latest sniper shooting in the Washington, D.C. area...
Music Memories:
- 1969] Released on this date: "Someday We'll Be Together" - Supremes, the Supes do it live in this video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffV9gH_1Lgk ...1971] "Wild Night" - Van Morrison...1979] "Babe" - Styx. This is a live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtcwwUonC2g ...1980] "Starting Over" - John Lennon...
Commentary...
Congratulations to the Cleveland Indians and their fans (who number Norm N. Nite, Bob Kwest and John Gorman (both Bob and John face a real dilemma, rooting for both the Red Sox and Indians). The Indians, of course, closed out their series against the Yankees last night with an impressive win and face the Sox beginning Friday night at Fenway. I am not split and will be rooting for the Red Sox to win it all...Most thoroughbreds never see 20 but the great champion thoroughbred John Henry, two-time Horse of the Year, who earned more than $6.5 million was euthanized over the weekend at the ripe old age of 32. John Henry was one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all-time...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Sean Ono Lennon (32), John O'Hurley (51), Scott Bakula (53), Tony Shaloub (54), Sharon Osbourne (55), Jackson Browne (59) and Fyvush Finkel (84)...
Timeline Countdown: 2 days before the playoffs begin for the National League title, 3 days until the American League playoffs, 15 days until the World Series begins, 22 nights until Halloween, 26 days until Standard Time and 37 days until Thanksgiving...
