The first criminal action against an alleged serial downloader has begun in the US.

30-year-old single mother of two Jammie Thomas appeared in court today in the Duluth Federal Court Minnesota to answer allegations that she illegally shared 1,702 songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network.

Thomas is the first of approximately 26,000 US citizens accused by the Recording Industry Association of America of illegal file-sharing to reach a civil judge and jury. Most of those accused have settled with the RIAA. Thomas said she had rejected such offers because she refused to be bullied.

The RIAA is seeking over $1.2m in compensation. The suit will focus on only 26 songs for damages with a claim of $750 to $30,000 for each alleged copyright violation. However, in cross examination, Jennifer Pariser, SonyBMG's head of litigation admitted, that the RIAA's legal campaign isn't making the labels any money, and that, furthermore, the industry has no idea of the actual damages it suffers due to file-sharing.

Artstechnica report that the RIAA's settlement amounts are typically in the neighborhood of $3,000-$4,000 for those who settle once they receive a letter from the music industry but this is dwarfed by the other side of the balance sheet - the amount of money paid to SafeNet (formerly MediaSentry) to conduct its investigations, and the cash spent on the RIAA's legal team and on local counsel to help with the various cases is enormous amd the entire campaign is a 'money pit'.