Free Republic

In what turned out to be a nightmare for the defendant, a federal jury on Thursday ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs. Record companies were awarded $80,000 per song, for a total of $1.92 million. This is the second time Thomas-Rasset went to trial on the matter. The single mother from Minnesota had planned to appeal the first ruling that came down from a different federal court in October 2007. But the judge in that case decided he had given the jury erroneous instructions and a new trial was ordered. Thomas-Rasset may wish she had...

SonyBMG's legal woes continue to grow worse. A lawsuit by the State of Texas against SonyBMG has been expanded to include new charges. The original lawsuit alleged that SonyBMG's XPC copy protection software violated Texas antispyware laws. The XPC software hid malicious and potentially destructive software with a rootkit, as well as opening a security hole. A patch intended to remove the rootkit, released by SonyBMG after news of their software became public, turned out to be more harmful than original software. If installed, the XPC patch would have allowed any web site to install any software, regardless of...

exas is suing Sony BMG Music Entertainment, alleging the company illegally installed spyware on millions of music CDs that Attorney General Greg Abbott says can make computers “vulnerable to computer viruses and other forms of attack.” Abbott said the spyware installs files onto the computers on which the CDs are played. "Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak and dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers," Abbott said. "Consumers who purchased a Sony CD thought they were buying music. Instead, they received spyware that can damage a computer, subject it to viruses and expose...