Intellectual Property Law

A Win Too Fair

By Posted by Alan Wexelblat

At least that's what the DoJ thinks is fair, according to papers it has filed in the Jammie Thomas punitive damages debacle. Yes, certainly Congress intended low-income students and single moms to be ordered to pay USD 2 million because... um, because something. Well, the DOJ seems to think that huge damages are deterrent. Which we can clearly see from the massive drop in file-sharing that has taken place since Congress passed this law in 1999. File-sharing has gone down in the last decade, right? That's what deterrence means, right?

"We are pleased that our sock puppets who have completely taken over the DoJ agree with us on this case" the RIAA barely managed not to say out loud.

Full post as published by Copyfight - The Politics of IP on August 17, 2009 (boomark / email).