Native mother outwits record companies at trial

A Native woman on trial for allegedly sharing copyright music on the Internet testified in her own defense on Wednesday.

Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two, is accused of sharing 25 songs. The recording industry says she owes up to $3.6 million in fines.

Thomas, who works for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, denies the charges. While on the stand, she outwitted the prosecution by demonstrating that she could copy songs from her CDs faster than an expert hired by record companies said she could.

Thomas also said the record companies can't prove she transferred or shared the music files in question. Her former boyfriend testified that he never saw her use the Kazaa music sharing program at issue in the case.

The jury is set to begin deliberations today. The case is being covered by a number of media outlets and blogs, including Ars Technica and Wired.

Get the Story:
Defense Planting Seeds of Doubt with RIAA Jurors (Wired 10/3)
Download Case Should Go to Jury Today (AP 10/4)
Tech-savvy world is wired to trial in Duluth (The Duluth News Tribune 10/4)
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