Judge Rejects 'Making Available' Defense, Orders Teen File Sharer to Pay RIAA $7,400 - Via Threat Level:

A federal judge is ordering a Texas college student to pay the Recording Industry Association of America $7,400 to settle copyright infringement allegations involving her use of the peer-to-peer file sharing network Kazaa when she was a juvenile.

The decision contradicts last month's mistrial ruling in the nation's only file sharing case to go to trial. The split outcomes underscore that, after five years of RIAA file sharing litigation and some 30,000 lawsuits, the level of proof necessary to demonstrate copyright infringement in the peer-to-peer context varies from judge to judge.

In the Texas case, 20-year-old Whitney Harper, a Texas Tech public relations student, conceded she used Kazaa on her San Antonio family's computer when she was between 14-16. But she asked the federal judge presiding over the case to grant her a trial in a bid to get sympathy from a jury because she claimed she was too young to appreciate that she was breaking the law.

More important, however, she wanted a trial in light of the Jammie Thomas mistrial decision in Minnesota.

In that case, a Minnesota federal judge in September overturned a jury's verdict that Thomas pay $222,000 for sharing 24 tracks on the Kazaa network. The judge ruled he erred when he instructed jurors last year that they could find Thomas liable for copyright infringement for solely having an open share folder filled with copyrighted music. The RIAA is appealing that mistrial order.

But U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez of Texas decided not to follow U.S. District Judge Michael Davis' decision and ruled against Harper. On Thursday, Rodriguez upheld (.pdf) his September decision (.pdf) in favor of the RIAA's motion for "summary judgment," legal jargon for winning a case without trial.

"The court rejects defendant's argument that merely making copyrighted works available to the public is not enough evidence for summary judgment purposes to establish infringement," Rodriguez ruled last month before the Thomas mistrial was declared.

When Rodriguez ruled, he left open the door for a trial to determine whether Harper was a so-called "innocent" infringer." An innocent infringer is one who commits copyright infringement without having knowledge of the act. An innocent infringer is liable for up to $200 in damages per music track. A non-innocent infringer can be dinged for up to $150,000 per track.

Harper, in a recent telephone interview, said "I didn't know I was stealing or distributing it. I thought I was like listening to MTV on the internet."

Weeks later, the RIAA accepted her innocent infringement defense and agreed to a $7,400 judgment for 37 songs. Harper, however, demanded a trial instead and the RIAA labeled her "vexatious."

The judge accepted the RIAA's position and closed the case Thursday.The woman's lawyer, Scott Mackenzie of Dallas, said he would appeal the decision.

Most of the RIAA's 30,000 cases have settled out of court for a few thousand dollars.

(Read Original Article - Via Threat Level.)