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M$1.00  Funded By Mahalo ? |  April 02, 2009 01:52 PM

Do you think the fines for downloading songs illegally is way too high?

Recently a person was fined 122,000 USD for every illegal song she downloaded. Are the music industry lobbyists in bed with your government.

What are your thoughts?
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ssharon ssharon
 
 April 02, 2009 04:02 PM
In my mind (speaking personally, although as a law student) the fines are unwarranted. In every case the RIAA has litigated or attempted to litigate they have failed to show any actual damages (beyond the $1 it would cost to purchase a song). In stead they are fighting for statutory and punitive damages. The statutory damages are a few hundred dollars per song (maybe around $600 if I remember correctly) and the punitive damages should be no more than nine times this amount. A number of cases have discussed excessive punitive damages and they have always determined that a reasonable amount is a single digit multiplier, although they left room open to decide on a case by case basis.

I don't think downloading songs is in such a special category as to modify the single digit multiplier rule and so fines over $100k are too high in my opinion.
On top of this, piracy has not decreased (thepiratebay has enjoyed a huge increase in users in the last few years) so obviously these fines are not effective. This is unlike the hypothetical $10,000 speeding ticket which I would think would be effective.
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mritty mritty
 
April 02, 2009 02:02 PM
don't break the law, and you won't get fined anything. I'm not seeing a problem here.

If they raised the fine for speeding to $10,000 x the number of miles over the limit, wanna bet how fast people would stop speeding?

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dcanswerer dcanswerer
 
April 02, 2009 02:19 PM
$122,000 per song is too high. There is a point at which a punishment no longer fits the crime. Yes, it's illegal, but we have a Constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. Saudi Arabia cuts the hands off shoplifters. Does it deter theft? No doubt. Is it humane? No.

This is clearly different, but the principle is similar.

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drmatt drmatt
 
April 02, 2009 02:46 PM
You think this is cruel and unusual punishment? I don't think a high fee is "inhumane"... but I can see how it can be excessive.

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drmatt drmatt
 
April 02, 2009 02:51 PM
Yes, I think it's too high, but it makes you think before you start doing something illegal.

Do you think 3 years in jail is too much for an ounce of weed in your pocket? Is THAT excessive? How about 5 years for stealing a bicycle? In California, we have a three strikes law and people have been given years in jail when their third strike has been something that seems trivial.

I also think that this fine is a negotiation tool. I'm SURE they know they aren't going to get this amount, but they can always negotiate down.

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