Copyright Law

Wired.com reports that Judge Davis indicated he is likely to declare a mistrial in Capitol v. Thomas

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

According to a report by Wired.com, Judge Davis indicated he is likely to grant a mistrial in Capitol v. Thomas.

Judge Hints at Mistrial in RIAA v. Jammie Thomas
By David Kravets August 04, 2008 | 2:20:01

DULUTH, Minnesota -- The federal judge who presided over the nation's only peer-to-peer, copyright infringement trial announced from the bench here Monday he is likely to declare a mistrial.

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis called attorneys for defendant Jammie Thomas and the Recording Industry Association of America to his courtroom here Monday, where a 70-minute hearing was held.

Davis opened the hearing referencing his May order in which he suggested a mistrial might be in order. The President Clinton appointee said he may have committed a "manifest error" when he instructed the Thomas jury in October that the Minnesota mother is liable for the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works using the peer-to-peer file sharing service Kazaa "regardless of whether actual distribution has been shown."

The judge's decision, in which he said would be issued "hopefully before the end of September," is likely to have wide-ranging implications in the RIAA's file-sharing litigation campaign ?- 20,000 lawsuits and counting. Most cases have settled out of court for a few thousand dollars and had never broached the topic of whether the RIAA must prove copyright violations ? a technological impossibility.

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net
Slashdot
Bloomberg News (via Contra Costa Times)
Northland's News Center
Minnesota Public Radio

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on August 04, 2008 (boomark / email).