File-sharer handed $2m fine

An American woman has been fined nearly $2m having been found guilty of illegal file-sharing.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, 32, was hit with the $1.92m (around £1.17m) fine in a court in Minneapolis on Thursday, when a jury decided she had shared 24 copyrighted tracks with other surfers.

Representatives of the recording industry in the US brought the case against Thomas-Rasset after she refused to settle out of court.

Hundreds of others have settled file-sharing claims out of court, normally agreeing on compensation of a few thousand dollars.

However, Thomas-Rasset's decision to go to court has had disastrous consequences for the mother-of-four, who reportedly gasped in the courtroom when the fine was announced.

She has said that there is no way she'd be able to pay that amount, calling the sum "ridiculous".

However, while recording industry representatives were overjoyed, they offered Thomas-Rasset hope of coming to a settlement.

"We are pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable. Since day one, we have been willing to settle this case and we remain willing to do so," said Cara Duckworth of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Thomas-Rasset was being tried for the second time after her initial conviction was overturned on appeal.

The $2m fine is well in excess of the fine imposed in October 2007 at the first trial, which was a mere $220,000.