14 DAY TRIAL // Google might breathe easily, as US District Court Judge Louis Stanton denied the media conglomerate's claim for punitive damages in the case, the Silicon Alley Insider reports. Interestingly enough, the Mountain View-based company did not object to the amendment, nor did it attempt any means to avoid it being submitted to the file. Could it be possible that Google's lawyers might have actually wanted this to happen, so it might help further down the path with their defense? Possible, but either way, Judge Stanton foiled both the companies' plans, just to be on even terms.
To break it down, all the ruling did was to prevent the option of a punitive damages claim to be amended to the original complaint, as his decision reads: "common-law punitive damages cannot be recovered under the Copyright Act." The round number of $1 billion is actually made out of a very large number of alleged copyright violations, ranging from $750 to $30,000 per violation, or in case the violation is proved to be with the consent of the Mountain View-based company, up to $150,000.
The lawsuit is rather complicated and will most certainly require a very long time to see an end, but the Judge's ruling is a means of avoiding any unnecessary complications. Had he let the claim stand, the damages associated with the lawsuit might have gotten theoretically into funny money territory, according to the cited source. The ruling further reads that: "According to plaintiffs, their purposed 'amended complaint makes clear that if Plaintiffs elect to recover actual damages and profits rather than statutory damages, Plaintiffs may also claim punitive damages for Defendants' conduct'."
The two sides are actually hashing out discovery rules, and depositions should start later this year. So far, Google has chosen to change the law firm defending it once, switching from Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott to Mayer Brown LLP.