Labels must disclose music download costs

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 27 Nov 2007 at 13:06

A US judge has ordered major record companies to disclose the wholesale price of music downloads.

The decree, made by Judge Robert M Levy, arises out of a suit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), against Marie Lindor over digital music sharing.

Lindor's attorney Ray Beckerman is seeking to establish that the $750 per-song that the RIAA is claiming in "damages" is 1,071 times too much and called for the RIAA to reveal how much they charge for music services.

The RIAA initially resisted the claims, arguing that the price was a trade secret, however, the argument clearly didn't hold water with Judge Levy who has given the body two weeks to supply the information.

Opponents of the RIAA's legal actions against alleged file sharers have always maintained that the damages are excessive and Lindor is attempting to prove that it violates the US Constitution's protection against excessive fines.

The wider issue

Whatever the outcome, the figures pale when compared to the $9,250 Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay after being found guilty of making 24 songs available for download. She is appealing.

The outcome of that appeal, and indeed of Lindor's defence, may depend on another RIAA case, against Tenise Barker. Barker, who has the backing of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the US Internet Industry Association and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is claiming that simply making songs available for download is not in itself a breach of copyright.

The RIAA's insists that "making available" amounts to copyright infringement, but Barker and her supporters argue that this a rewriting of copyright law. Judge Kenneth M Karas is still considering his verdict.