Campaign Against Music Piracy Goes to First Trial

The recording industry has initiated over 20,000 lawsuits against individuals since it launched its zero-tolerance copyright campaign against file-sharing in 2003, but never before has one gone to trial. Now a jury will decide whether a young mother illegally distributed 1,702 audio files on the peer-to-peer network Kazaa.

Sony, Virgin, and Warner Bros. are among the companies owning copyrights to songs the RIAA claims Thomas shared on the Net without permission. The association tied the uploads to Thomas when an investigator claimed to match an IP address to her name, Wired reports. Now the RIAA is seeking $3.9 million in damages, but Thomas "just didn't do it," said her lawyer. (More copyright law stories.)