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28 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 715 (2013)
Remittitur and Copyright

handle is hein.journals/berktech28 and id is 739 raw text is: REMITTITUR AND COPYRIGHT Casge Hultin t Recently, decisions on peer-to-peer file sharing copyright infringement cases have come down from the First and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals. The defendants in these cases are normal, everyday people, but there is nothing everyday about the damage awards, which sometimes amount to over $1,000,000. The courts in both of these decisions utilized the common law doctrine of remittitur. The doctrine of remittitur allows the court to lower the amount of damages when those damages are grossly excessive based on evidence presented to the jury. When the court grants remittitur, the party who receives the damage award has the option to accept the remitted damage award or choose to have a new trial if the party is unhappy with the remitted amount. In Soy BMG Musc Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the court did not find remittitur appropriate where the defendant moved for remittitur after the jury awarded the plaintiff $675,000 in damages for the defendant's downloading of thirty-four songs. In contrast, in Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset, the District Court of Minnesota granted the defendant's motion for remittitur after the jury awarded the plaintiff $1,920,000 in damages, equal to $80,000 per song the defendant downloaded. The court in that case held that remittitur was appropriate, and the plaintiff moved for a new trial instead of accepting the remitted amount.3 This Note proceeds in three parts. Part I examines the history of the doctrine of remittitur. Part II next examines the doctrine's interaction with copyright law. Finally, Part III explores the future potential applications of the doctrine. Recently, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has stated that it will no longer pursue litigation against individual infringers, leaving suits against facilitators as the best means for recovering damages for online copyright infringement. Independent filmmakers also have ongoing lawsuits against downloaders from peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Whether or not remittitur will play a role in these cases remains to © 2013 Casey Hultin. t J.D. Candidate, 2014, University of California, Berkeley School of Law. 1. Sony BMG Music Entm't v. Tenenbaum (Tenenbaum II), No. 07-11446-RWZ, 2012 WL 3639053 (D. Mass. Aug. 23, 2012). 2. Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas-Rasset (Thomas-Rasser 1/), 692 F.3d 899, 904 (8th Cir. 2012). 3. Id.