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Jammie Thomas Trial 2.0 Ends with Even Bigger Damages

Paul Lilly — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:00:08 -0500

For the second time, a jury on Thursday found Jammie Thomas liable for willful copyright infringement, this time ordering her to pay fines totaling an eye-popping $1.92 million to the RIAA. The surprise decision breaks down to $80,000 for each of the 24 songs Thomas was found guilty of illegally sharing. According to ArsTechnica, Thomas let out a gasp as the fine was read.

"Good luck trying to get it from me," Thomas said when speaking about the verdict. "It's like squeezing blood from a turnip."

For those who haven't been following, Thomas in 2007 was initially accused of illegally sharing 1,700 songs, but the RIAA dropped that number down to 24. In October of the same year, a jury found her guilty and imposed a $222,000 verdict against her. The decision was later thrown out when U.S. District Judge Michael Davis said he erred when giving his jury instructions that simply making songs available amounted to copyright infringement.

The RIAA, big winners in the retrial, told reporters that they have always been, and still are, willing to settle the case. Thomas' lawyer acknowledged the settlement offer, but said he plans to file numerous motions if Thomas chooses to continue the fight.

Image Credit: despair.com

UPDATE: Steam Offering 24 Hours of FREE Left 4 Dead, Starting Today

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:59:27 -0500

Sure, Friday is already a pretty great day of the week (some might argue, the best). But, thanks to Valve, it just got a bit better due to a 24-hour trial of Left 4 Dead! Looks like that whole “last day of the work week” nonsense is going to have to wait another week for its chance to shine.

If you haven’t given Left 4 Dead a try yet, there’s no better time to give it a chance. According to Steam, “Beginning Friday at 12:01 am GMT, the PC version of Left 4 Dead will be available for a free 24-hour trial via Steam. The free trial will include access to the recently released Survival Pack DLC, which introduces a new multiplayer game mode and two additional Versus campaigns. Those who wish to give L4D and the Survival Pack a try may now pre-load everything needed to play with no obligation to purchase.”

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal! If you decide to take Newell and company up on this offer, be sure to join the Maximum PC Steam Community group, and take full advantage of our servers. Don’t say we never gave you anything!

UPDATE: Well ladies and germs, it looks like the fantastic Left 4 Dead trial that Valve Software is offering for today just got extended! You can play everyone’s favorite zombie apocalypse simulator all the way until Saturday at 5 PM GMT. And, if over the course of this weekend you decide you like the game enough to buy it, you’ll get a whopping 40 percent off of the retail price. Not too bad!

Image Credit: Valve Software

Google Execs Face Criminal Charges Over Online Video

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:38:54 -0600

Four Google employees have been slapped with criminal charges of defamation and privacy violation in Italy. Their legal woes began when an Italian organization complained against a video on Google Video – uploaded a couple of years ago – that shows four imbeciles tormenting a disabled person.

Although Google removed the video as soon as the complaint was made, Italian prosecutors decided to persist with personal criminal charges – an unprecedented move - against the four Google executives. Their trial will begin on Tuesday in Milan, Italy. These Google execs may even be consigned to an Italian prison for up to three years, if the charges against them are upheld.

It has vowed to “vigorously defend” its employees. "Seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet" a spokeswoman for Google argued.

Image Credit: Gamespot

Vicarious Liability: French Court Slaps $63 Million Fine Against eBay for Users' Sins

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:07:05 -0500

Vicarious liability is a legal principle that lays out rules for liability of one person for the acts of the other. But the most uncompromising version of this legal doctrine has surfaced in France, where a court ordered eBay to pay luxury goods group LVMH damages worth $63 million.

LVMH had alleged wrongdoing on eBay’s part as many counterfeit LVMH goods including those from brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy were being sold through the website. But the court failed to understand that eBay is merely an online marketplace and can’t be held liable for the wrongful acts of its users, unless there is evidence to suggest collusion between the two. The court also deemed eBay liable for damages due to the sale of legitimate LVMH products which are only to be sold through authorized channels.

In a similar case in India, the MD of Baazee.com that later became eBay India was arrested in 2004 for selling pornographic content through his company website (Baazee), although it was actually a user who sold the porn clip. He still faces legal charges and is currently under trial, however, criminal charges against him have been countermanded.

eBay is going to challenge the ruling and will soon file an appeal against the order. “Today’s ruling is about an attempt by LVMH to protect uncompetitive commercial practices at the expense of consumer choice and the livelihood of law-abiding sellers that eBay empowers everyday,” said eBay’s spokesperson in a statement.

Image Credit: RaeA