The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has settled out of court with thousands of file sharers and the select few that decided to go to court have suffered severe monetary punishments. One of the few remaining active cases has moved to the Supreme Court, which sets a precedent as this is the first RIAA-led lawsuit to reach this level.
It's unlikely any other RIAA John Doe lawsuits will reach this level, because very few have been able to claim ignorance due to their age.
The U.S. Supreme Court now has to consider its first RIAA John Doe lawsuit, which was previously ruled in favor of the RIAA with a penalty of $750 per song issued. Defendant Whitney Harper was originally fined $27,750 for sharing 37 copyrighted fines -- but since she was an "innocent infringer," her fines were dropped down to $200 per song ($7,400 total).
Harper was a teenager when she shared the 37 copyrighted files over LimeWire, with her attorney arguing that she didn't know the consequences because of her age.
Innocent infringer is a term reserved for people who shared music but didn't realize that copyright infringement was being committed. Since Harper was between the ages of 14 and 16, which would allow for an innocent infringer consideration, she relied on her "legal naivety" to avoid punishment.
Unfortunately, an appeals court recently reversed the federal Texas judge decision that considered Harper an innocent infringer.
It's unknown if the Copyright Act's innocent infringer clause includes online music, however, which is something the Supreme Court will have to consider. It seems relatively unlikely the RIAA will win its case, as less than 35 percent of similar cases are won in front of the Supreme Court.
The RIAA already promised to leave behind its John Doe lawsuit campaign, with more than 20,000 people reportedly settling out of court over the years. The group ended up spending millions of dollars to collect very little in return, along with collecting negative press from the media and the general public. The group is now pressuring ISPs into policing their users, while also becoming more involved in net neutrality.
