The much anticipated retrial of Jammie Thomas, for the percieved act of downloading and sharing licensed music has been pushed back until June 15th. After the first trial, in which the Native American single mother with two children from Brainerd, Minnesota lost, and was told to pay back $220,000 dollars in copyright infringement to the RIAA, the presiding Judge Michael Davis overturned and put aside the judgment last summer, stating that he had made an error in his instructions to the jury.
So what we have here is a real mess, with the current technology, there will always be a way to download music from the internet, whether legally or illegally. Every rock, country, pop or whatever band has something to say about the music downloading going on. The trademark and copyright infringements have always been an issue, right now you have the epic Warner Bros. vs. You Tube battle going on that may be in the legal courts for years, nevermind the court of public opinion.
If the real purpose of the performers was to have their fans enjoy the music they make, then this would not be a problem, but when you get the record companies involved whose sole purpose is make money, you will have a conflict of the artist who wants his/her music heard vs. the music moguls whom want to make money off the entertainers.
At some point there will be a new type of technology that will come out, that can make all of the music downloading legal, and all the parties will get the money that they deserve, but for now the lawsuits will continue………
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