A federal judge on Friday slashed by 90 percent the damages a jury awarded the recording industry in a lawsuit against a  university student caught file-sharing. The judge declared the original $675,000 award as “unconstitutionally excessive.” U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner reduced last year’s verdict to $67,500, or $2,250 for each of the 30 tracks defendant Joel Tenenbaum unlawfully downloaded and shared on Kazaa. The... 

Thomas-Rasset testifying during her first 2007 trial. The nation’s first file sharing copyright infringement trial has morphed into a legal Groundhog Day. In a bid to avoid a third trial — after two mistrials — the Minnesota federal judge presiding over the 4-year-old Jammie Thomas-Rasset case wants the Recording Industry Association of American and the defendant to negotiate a settlement . But, as Thomas-Rasset’s attorney,... 

Whitney Harper must pay the RIAA $27,750 for file sharing that began when she was 14 A federal appeals court is ordering a university student to pay the Recording Industry Association of America $27,750 — $750 a track — for file sharing 37 songs when she was a high school cheerleader. The decision Thursday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a Texas federal judge who had ordered defendant Whitney Harper to pay $7,400,... 

Provocative website p2pnet.net, the online voice to one of the world’s most blistering and perpetual attacks on the Recording Industry Association of America, is shuttering amid financial doldrums. It was 9 years old. “I can’t claim p2pnet has been protecting the world, but I’ve done my best to unspin some of the vested interest corporate spin, and expose a few of the lies and corruption,” the site’s voice... 

Lawyers for a music file sharer said Monday they would challenge a judge’s order reducing from $1.92 million to $54,000 the amount their client, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, must pay the recording industry for copyright infringement of 24 songs. The appeal concerns Friday’s head-spinning order by U.S. District Judge Michael Davis. The Minnesota federal judge dramatically lowered the amount a jury in June ordered Thomas-Rasset to pay —... 

A federal judge on Friday reduced a $1.92 million file sharing verdict to $54,000 after concluding the award for infringing 24 songs was “shocking.” A federal jury in June found Jammie Thomas-Rasset liable in what at the time was the nation’s only Recording Industry Association of America file-sharing case against an individual to go to trial. The Minnesota federal jury dinged her $1.92 million for infringing 24 songs . She asked... 

A federal judge on Friday reduced a $1.92 million file sharing verdict to $54,000 after concluding the award for infringing 24 songs was “shocking.” A federal jury in June found Jammie Thomas-Rasset liable in what at the time was the nation’s only Recording Industry Association of America file sharing case against an individual to go to trial. The Minnesota federal jury dinged her $1.92 million for infringing 24 songs . She asked... 

The Obama administration is backing $675,000 in damages a Massachusetts student must pay the Recording Industry Association of America for file sharing 30 songs. The Justice Department, where President Barack Obama has tapped five former RIAA lawyers to serve , said copyright infringement “creates a public harm that Congress determined must be deterred.” The administration’s court filing Tuesday is the latest in the case of... 

The Obama administration is backing $675,000 in damages a Massachusetts student must pay the Recording Industry Association of America for file sharing 30 songs. The Justice Department, where President Barack Obama has tapped five former RIAA lawyers to serve , said copyright infringement “creates a public harm that Congress determined must be deterred.” The administration’s court filing Tuesday is the latest in the case of... 

A British jury on Friday cleared former Oink admin Allan Ellis of conspiracy to defraud the music industry for running one of the world’s strangest music file-sharing services with some 200,000 members. Operators of the so-called Pink Palace banned low-quality sound files, enforced strict usage rules and mandated that all users’ avatars be “cute” — even taking pains to define exactly what made an avatar appropriately...