RIAA Loses Retrial Appeal In Thomas Case

From DailyTech: The Jammie Thomas case was a landmark event for the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) and their pricey legal war against file sharing, marking their first trial to go before a jury for a verdict. The RIAA secured a record $220,000 verdict from the jury, with some jury members calling on single mom Jammie Thomas to pay over three million dollars for two dozen named tracks allegedly infringed.

However, the RIAA's joy was killed when a judge tossed the verdict and called for a retrial. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis who originally presided over the case said he misled jurors when it told them that simply sharing the file to others (making available) is tantamount to infringement. A new trial was scheduled for March.

The RIAA appealed the decision to toss the verdict and yesterday was dealt another setback when it lost its appeal. The case will indeed be going back to court for a retrial.

The case is being scrutinized as it marks the first time that the RIAA has actually officially charged someone with copyright infringement in court as it has threatened to do to 26,000 other people it has settled with over the course of its campaign. While the others had settled for a few thousand dollars, Ms. Thomas refused, maintaining her innocence and denying that she used peer-to-peer service, Kazaa to share files.

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