US judge: $30,000 for illegally downloading film is excessive

A US judge has ruled that $30,000 in damages for illegally downloading and distributing a single film is “excessively high.” The case was brought against several internet users.

In a case in which several parties had to defend themselves for allegedly infringing the copyright of the film Elf-man, an amount of $30,000 per person was at stake. The judge judged that as extremely high. The claim could be rejected on the basis of the Eighth Amendment. Instead, the defendants were ordered to pay damages of $750 per film, approximately $600, plus additional costs. The total compensation eventually amounted to about 3000 dollars per person, almost 2400 euros.

The judge doubts the extent of the damage that the filmmakers suffer as a result of the violation of the internet users, TorrentFreak writes. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive fines, bails, and other unusual penalties. According to the judge, the amount of money that the film makers demanded can be classified under this.

Hundreds of thousands of internet users have been sued in the United States for alleged copyright infringements in the past. The aim would usually be to reach settlements, but in some cases litigation is continued. That would happen after users are identified by their ISP. If the defendants are unable to defend themselves in court, the plaintiff would often win by default judgement.