Minnesota Mom Loses RIAA Fight!

Minnesota mom gets shutdown by the U.S. Supreme Court in her fight against the RIAA. 

Jammie Thomas became famous for being the first woman to be sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, for illegally downloading music off the internet's peer-to-peer sharing websites.

She along with if not millions of Americans shared or downloaded music online. Instead of paying $15 for a music CD, we just want the hottest singles from the entertainer. So we download it through online peer-to-peer sharing sites and download websites. It launched an ongoing battle against the music industry.

Nowadays, people are so fed up with the RIAA, the American people aren't buying the music or movies. It's been a slight slow down in downloading. But there's been a strong decline in music and movie sales.

Why pay over $20 for a movie? You can get it off the Pirate's Bay!

Why give these entertainers the luxury of stiffing us at concerts or snubbing our request for autographs?

This is how many Americans think of the entertainment industry. They believe most entertainers are too uptight and rally on controversy to stay relevant.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset is now 35 years old. Still owing the RIAA over $200,000 in legal royalties.

The woman was sued by the RIAA after they determined that music downloads were being used illegally.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset has become the first woman to be sued for $2 million by the RIAA.

The U.S. District Court in Minnesota found that Thomas-Rasset was found liable in damages and was ordered to pay $2 million. The damages were reduced to nearly $220, 000 after the court found it's ruling to too harsh.

Thomas didn't have the money and felt that she was singled out for something, millions of others do. She didn't sell the music illegally, she just listened to it on her computer. For nearly eight years, Thomas-Rasset fought this all the way to the Supreme Court.

Thomas-Rasset is a mother of four and of Native American decent. She lived in the community of Brainerd, Minnesota.

Married now, Thomas-Rasset was fighting this battle tooth and nail against an industry giant.

The Raw Story reported that her only opportunity to seek redemption was thrown out the window.

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal from Thomas-Rasset.

Three trials and multiple appeals later, she has been ordered to pay amounts as high as $1.92 million — or $80,000 for each of 24 illegally downloaded tracks. After the third trial, at which the jury awarded the music companies $1.5 million, the amount was reduced on appeal to $220,000.

That’s the amount in damages Thomas-Rasset was originally ordered to pay after her first conviction, but the judge who presided over that trial threw out the verdict calling it “wholly disproportionate” and “oppressive.”

In the mid-2000s, the Recording Industry Association of America and major music labels brought suit against thousands of people for illegally downloading and sharing music, with most agreeing to settlements of between $3,000 and $5,000.

Thomas-Rasset, however, has consistently refused to settle the case.

Only one other defendant, Boston student Joel Tenenbaum, refused a settlement. Tenenbaum was ordered to pay $675,000, a fine the Supreme Court also refused to review in May 2012.

In December 2008, the RIAA said it will stop suing people who download music illegally and focus instead on getting Internet Service Providers to take action.

Back in 2009, Jammie Thomas-Rasset went to CBS to talk about her appeal.




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