Copyright Law

Trial transcript of Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas now available online

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

We are pleased to announce that the complete transcript of the Duluth, Minnesota, jury trial, which took place October 2, 2007, to October 4, 2007, in Capitol Records v. Thomas, is now available online:

Transcript, October 2, 2007, pp. 1-278
Transcript, October 3, 2007, pp. 280-543
Transcript, October 4, 2007, pp. 544-643

[Ed. note. Many, many, many thanks to the "Joel Fights Back" team, who obtained this transcript and furnished it to "Recording Industry vs. The People". This transcript will be an invaluable aid to those of us representing defendants in RIAA cases. Among the many interesting things to look for: the early-morning argument on October 4, 2007, where Richard Gabriel convinced Judge Davis to change his mind and accept the plaintiffs' proffered jury instruction; the testimony of Jennifer Pariser in which -- according to Cary Sherman -- she "misspoke"; the testimony of the RIAA's expert witness Doug Jacobson; the testimony of the MediaSentry investigator; the technology issues relating to the service performed by Best Buy on Ms. Thomas's hard drive; the voir dire and testimony of the RIAA's expert. And on and on. This was the RIAA's first and only trial, as far as we know. This transcript is a huge help to all of us. On behalf of all of the victims of the RIAA's vicious campaign: Thank you, "Joel Fights Back". -R.B.]

[Ed. note. On page 532 of the October 3rd transcript, when the lawyers and the judge were discussing the making available issue, this passage jumped out at me:

THE COURT: .....I didn't hear any Eighth
Circuit cases that were cited.
MR. GABRIEL: I don't believe the Eighth Circuit
has spoken on the issue, Your Honor. I think we looked for
that.

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on December 28, 2008 (boomark / email).