DOJ: $222,000 File Sharing Fine Not Excessive

From FMQB:

Jammie Thomas, the Minnesota woman who lost her court battle against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over file sharing, has also lost her appeal in the case. The U.S. Department of Justice determined that the $222,000 in damages that were awarded to the RIAA - $9,250 for each of the 24 songs shared - is constitutional and is not excessive.

"Although defendant claims that plaintiffs' damages are 70 cents per infringing copy, it is unknown how many other users - potentially millions - committed subsequent acts of infringement with the illegal copies of works that the defendant infringed," Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bucholtz wrote. "It is impossible to calculate the damages caused by a single infringement, particularly for infringement that occurs over the Internet."

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