Chicago (IL) - With the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) still in litigation regarding copyright infringement by individuals who downloaded and shared music on peer to peer networks, it has yet to be determined what the Obama administration's stance on the matter is regarding reward amounts per infringed song.





During the Bush administration, hefty fines of up to $150,000 per infringed song were supported and it was evident the Copyright Act was supported as well.



"Congress acted reasonably in crafting the current incarnation by ensuring that it serves both a compensatory and deterrent purpose. Congress established a damages range that provides compensation for copyright owners in a regime in which actual damages are hard to quantify," was the official line of the Bush administration in 2007.



We will see how the Obama administration chooses to handle the same issue. According to Wired.com and this court document, the administration stated to a Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday that it would make a decision as to whether or not the damages are unconstitutionally excessive by March 25.



Over the past few years, the RIAA has sued more than 30,000 individuals for making copyrighted music available for download from their computers and P2P networks. Most of the cases have been settled for damages ranging anywhere from $750 per song to $150,000 per song outside of the court room.



It is currently in question whether or not the fines go against U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Under the Copyright Act, the minimum penalty is 750 times the actual injury if one assumes that the value of each individual music track is deemed $1. The U.S. Supreme Court and other courts have determined that financial punishments exceeding a 9:1 ratio are not constitutional.



Jammie Thomas of Minnesota was ordered to pay the RIAA $220,000 for unlawfully sharing 24 songs on Kazaa in 2007. This is the only case of its type to reach a trial level. Next month the case will be tried again, as the judge declared a mistrial due to faulty jury instructions.



It has yet to be determined what fines Jammie Thomas will be facing when her case heads to trial again, and it will be up to the U.S Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of the Copyright Act, but it will give the United States Citizens a clear understanding of the Obama Administrations stance, and their relationship with the recording industry.