Intellectual Property Law

Obama Administration Mulls Constitutionality of Copyright Act

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

In a few weeks, we'll likely know the Obama administration's position on whether it supports hefty monetary awards in file sharing litigation brought by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The Bush administration's position was clear. It supported the Copyright Act's penalties of up to $150,000 per infringed song.

"Congress acted reasonably in crafting the current incarnation by ensuring that it serves both a compensatory and deterrent purpose. Congress established a damages range that provides compensation for copyright owners in a regime in which actual damages are hard to quantify," the Bush administration wrote in 2007.

Now it's President Barack Obama's turn, and we'll see how tight he is with Hollywood.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration told (.pdf) a Pennsylvania federal judge weighing a constitutional challenge to the 1976 Copyright Act that it likely would divulge whether it believes damages under the act are unconstitutionally excessive by March 25 .

The Copyright Act is the law under which the RIAA has sued about 30,000 individuals for file sharing. Damages range from $750 a track to $150,000. At issue is whether the fines go against U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

The minimum penalty under the Copyright Act equals a ratio of about 750 times the actual injury, assuming the value of a single music track costs $1 to purchase. Rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts say financial punishments exceeding a 9-to-1 ratio are unconstitutional.

In 2007, a Minnesota jury ordered Jammie Thomas of Minnesota to pay the RIAA $222,000 for unlawfully sharing 24 tracks on the Kazaa file sharing network, in the only case of its kind to go to trial. A retrial is set for next month after the judge declared a mistrial because of faulty jury instructions.

Image: Modernhumorist.com

See Also:

• RIAA Qualifies Statement on No New Copyright Lawsuits
• RIAA Thomas Appeal Denied; Retrial Likely to Set New Copyright ...
• Top Internet Providers Cool to RIAA 3-Strikes Plan
• In Internet First, RIAA File Sharing Hearing to Be Webcast ...
• Former Teen Cheerleader Defies RIAA Over $7400 File Sharing Tab ...
• Analysis: RIAA Strategy Shift Mired in Murky Legal Waters
• RIAA Fears 'Manipulation' of Courtroom Web Broadcast
• Retrial Date Set in RIAA v. Thomas
• RIAA Decries Attorney-Blogger as 'Vexatious' Litigator
• No ISP Filtering Under New RIAA Copyright Strategy
• Judge Orders Legal Fees in RIAA v Andersen
• Despite RIAA Loss, File Sharers Face Hefty Fines
• Judge Declares Mistrial in RIAA-Jammie Thomas Trial
• RIAA Appeals Jammie Thomas Mistrial
• Imagine RIAA, MPAA in Control of Handbag Industry
• RIAA, MPAA Converging on Political Conventions

Full post as published by Threat Level on February 19, 2009 (boomark / email).