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A U.S. district court has reduced fines for Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman who a jury last year found liable for copyright violations. She had apparently illegally distibuted 24 songs to her friends and was fined for $2 million and had it reduced to $54000. The Recording Industry Association of America accused Thomas-Rasset in 2007 of illegal file sharing and after refusing to admit guilt or settle with the RIAA, she became the first person to take her case to court. In his decision, Davis told the RIAA that it has seven days to either accept the lower damages or to schedule a new trial on damages. Whatever decision the music industry makes could have serious affects on all copyright owners, Sheffner said in an interview. Davis' decision could be setback for copyright owners. The music industry had argued that the court didn't have the authority to alter the amount awarded by the jury as it was within federal guidelines set by Congress, said Sheffner. RIAA attorneys held that as long as the jury awarded an amount within that range, the award was legal. It's important to note that Davis did not in any way condone illegal file sharing. He wrote that even reduced damages are still "significant and harsh." He also ordered Thomas-Rasset to never infringe the music industry's copyright again and to destroy music she obtained illegally.

"Jammie Thomas-Rasset Won't Pay $1.5M Music-Sharing Judgement, Says Lawyer - Crimesider - CBS News." //Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News//. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. .