Record companies plan music downloading appeal

MINNEAPOLIS— Recording industry attorneys are appealing a recent ruling that reduced the amount of money a Minnesota woman must pay for willfully violating the copyrights of 24 songs.

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis ruled last month that the $1.5 million penalty imposed by a jury was unreasonable, and that Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd should instead pay $54,000.

The judge also ruled that making copyrighted works available on file-sharing networks does not constitute distribution — a decision that could prevent record labels from telling Thomas-Rasset to stop sharing songs in the future.

Attorneys for the recording industry filed documents Monday indicating they’ll appeal both points.

The recording industry sued Thomas-Rasset in 2006 for illegally sharing music on the file-sharing site Kazaa. The case has seen multiple appeals.