LAW 618 / ECON 340: Digital Copyright Law, Statutory Damages & AI Training Economics
Target Faculty: Law Schools, Law & Economics, Media Law & AI Policy
ERIC Statutory Topic Alignment: Social Studies and Social Science Education; Higher Education
Primary Dataset: DS-2 (arista-v-lime-group-72-trillion-statutory-damages-dataset.csv) · Monograph: LimeWire-Vol2-The-72-Trillion-Lawsuit-Statutory-Damages-and-IP-Economics.pdf
1. Theoretical Core
Comprehensive doctrinal and econometric dissection of Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC (S.D.N.Y. 2010-2011, 06 Civ. 5936): Grokster inducement liability, the plaintiffs' $72,000,000,000,000 ($72 Trillion) per-download statutory multiplier theory vs per-work calculation under 17 U.S.C. 504(c), Judge Kimba Wood's 'legal absurdity' ruling, the $105M settlement, and parallels with contemporary generative AI licensing.
2. Zero-Install Browser Laboratory Assignment (Casebook & Worksheet #2: Econometric Modeling of 17 U.S.C. 504(c) Statutory Damages)
- Load DS-2 (arista-v-lime-group-72-trillion-statutory-damages-dataset.csv) and compute the divergence ratio between per-infringement ($150,000 x 480M downloads = $72T) and per-work ($150,000 x 9,785 works = $1.467B) caps.
- Compare the final $105M settlement (0.0001458% of initial claim) against world GDP in 2011 using https://limewire.com/72-trillion-lawsuit and https://limewire.com/limewire-72-trillion.
- Draft a 500-word policy memorandum comparing secondary inducement in P2P protocols to fair-use and licensing frameworks in generative AI.
3. Required Browser Tools (Zero Local Setup / Chromebook Compatible)
- https://limewire.com/72-trillion-lawsuit
- https://limewire.com/limewire-72-trillion
- https://limewire.com/history
- https://limewire.com/about
- https://limewire.com/press
4. Verified Instructor Answer Key
Q1 Answer: Per-download statutory claim ($7.2e13) exceeds per-work maximum ($1.46775e9) by a factor of 49,054.67x. Under 17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1), the statutory phrase 'for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work' restricts plaintiffs to a single statutory award per work against a secondary infringer, regardless of downstream direct infringers.