CRA vice president Dr. Debra Aron advised counsel for Plaintiffs and testified at deposition in litigation against a broadband services company in copyright infringement litigation pertaining to alleged music piracy.
The Plaintiffs, three major music labels, alleged that the Defendant facilitated the extensive illegal downloading of music by the Defendants’ customers in violation of the Plaintiffs’ copyrights. Dr. Aron was asked to examine the professional economic literature to determine whether music piracy is harmful to copyright owners; to assess the incentives of the defendant to enforce or fail to enforce against copyright infringement by its customers; and to determine, based on the available technology, whether it is possible to quantify the number of alleged infringements.
Dr. Aron testified that, upon professional assessment of the literature, the empirical evidence is clear that piracy is harmful to copyright owners. She also found that, while the available technology and data in the case did not permit quantifying the volume of infringement, the Defendant’s analysis implied that actual damages were consistent with available statutory damages. She also offered an assessment of the Defendant’s incentives in light of the trends in their business areas, the economics of the music industry, and the company’s specific circumstances.
The parties reached a settlement in the case before it proceeded to trial. Dr. Aron was supported by CRA’s team led by Dr. Olga Ukhaneva and Matthew Arck.
