$222,000 Award in RIAA Copyright Case Not Excessive, says DOJ

Jamie Thomas, ordered to pay the RIAA for allegedly sharing 24 songs over a peer-to-peer network, lost an appeal in U.S District Court in Minnesota.  Thomas was challenging the constitutionality of the award, claiming the award was far in excess of any actual damages suffered by the music labels.  The DOJ dimissed Thomas' claims and said the statutory damages provision in the Copyright Act were crafted to ensure both a "compensatory and a deterrent purpose."