Jury: Minn. woman owes $1.5M for song-sharing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal jury has decided a Minnesota woman owes $1.5 million for sharing 24 songs over the Internet.

Jurors determined Wednesday that Jammie (JAY'-mee) Thomas-Rasset owes $62,500 per song.

Last year, a federal jury found Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs. She was ordered to pay $1.92 million in damages, or $80,000 per song.

But Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis reduced the verdict to about $54,000 in damages, calling the jury's penalty "monstrous and shocking." The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group representing the major music labels, rejected the reduced penalty, setting up the new trial to determine damages.

The RIAA says in a statement it hopes Thomas-Rasset "finally accepts responsibility for her actions."

A message left for Thomas-Rasset's attorney was not immediately returned.

Tags: daily updates, technology, minnesota, news, music, thomas, rasset