The recording industry strategy up to now has been to sue file sharers and then settle out of court at lower cost than the penalties available under copyright law. But one defendant decided to opt for a jury trial and that looks like maybe not such a wise decision.

From today's Wall Street Journal:

In its first courtroom challenge after four years of lawsuits, the music industry scored a legal victory for its practice of suing alleged file sharers.

In the case in federal district court in Duluth, Minn., a Minnesota woman was found liable for willful copyright infringement. The jury awarded the music companies a total of $220,000, or $9,250 for each of the 24 works the music industry said the woman uploaded. The decision will likely reinvigorate the music industry's strategy of suing U.S. file sharers -- even as the practice of file sharing continues to increase.

While the RIAA reportedly has pursued many of these cases based on questionable or even flimsy evidence, this apparently wasn't one of those situations. The prosecution was able to prove a credible link between the woman's Kazaa account ID and her eMail address; there was also evidence that the defendant attempted to cover her tracks by installing a new hard drive shortly after being sued.

The fact is file-sharing is an illegal activity and there are penalties for this when someone is found guilty. But then, it's also illegal to record songs from the radio, and I spent much of my teenage years doing just that. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that I've owned more than 2,000 audio CDs and another 1,500 LPs and countless 45s and 12-inch remixes? Was I buying all that legitimate recording industry product to assuage my guilt, or was I acting on a love of music that I gained through free radio exposure and illicit homemade recordings?

I'm not sure, but when I add up all the money I've spent on music over the years it makes me think that maybe my mother was right and I should have spent more time on my stamp collection...

But tech industry analyst Techdirt sees the RIAA win in a wider context:

This is unfortunate in the long run, as the decision is actually going to hurt the companies the RIAA represents more than if it had lost the case. That's because the RIAA will take this as a validation of its "sue our fans" strategy, rather than realizing it's finally time to try a different model...

...the RIAA, of course, wasted no time in gloating about the decision and is using this to push others to settle rather than fighting the RIAA lawsuits. This actually is reasonable advice if, as in this case, you were guilty of breaking the law and the RIAA has the evidence to show it. The problem is that's often not the case -- yet, again, that important point will get lost.

And that point is even further from reaching the consciousness of the film industry which seems hyper-determined to pursue technology and legal solutions, rather than consider more practical and effective marketing of its products.

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