Is ignorance a reasonable defense in file-sharing cases?
Ask the RIAA, and the answer is predictably no. But ignorance towards file-sharing infringement has now taken center stage in Maverick v. Harper. In August, US District Court judge Xavier Rodriguez sympathized with defendant Whitney Harper, who admitted to sharing a total of 37 songs through Kazaa while still a teenager. But Harper was oblivious to the legal aspects, and in consideration of the innocent infringer defense, Rodriguez offered a $200-per-track settlement resolution, for total damages of $7,400.
The RIAA was initially uninterested in the compromise, though the group has since accepted the $200-per-track proposal. Unfortunately, Harper lawyer Donald Mackenzie is now pushing for a full trial, a move that comes at a vulnerable point for the RIAA. Just recently, a major RIAA victory in Capitol v. Thomas was called into question by US District Court judge Michael J. Davis, who ordered a retrial based on questionable evidence gathering techniques.
Specifically, Davis reversed earlier instructions to the jury that tied infringement to the act of making content available through applications like Kazaa – instead of actually downloading the copyrighted works in question. That changes the landscape entirely, and spells serious opportunity for an ambitious attorney. “This case is not just a solitary matter lingering on a docket; rather it is a potential fulcrum for many others who are currently ensnared in this massive portion of the Federal Judicial case load,” Mackenzie expressed in a recent filing.