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Student Seeks New Trial in Music Downloading Case
Joel Tenenbaum was ordered to pay record labels $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs.
Joel Tenenbaum, ordered to pay $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing music, is seeking a new trial and reduced fine.
A Boston University grad student ordered to pay $675,000 to record labels for illegally downloading music has asked for a new trial and a reduction in damages.
In July 2009, Joel Tenenbaum, 25, was ordered to pay $22,500 for each of the 30 songs he shared on Napster and Kazaa back in 2004.
In a motion filed on Jan. 4, 2010, Tenenbaum's lawyers say Judge Nancy Gertner came down too hard on Tenenbaum, adding that he is one of millions who have downloaded and shared music.
"The fact that digital media was DRM-free on Napster and Kazaa contributed substantially to their immense public appeal," the filing states. "Encryption, by contrast, limited transferability and necessitated proprietary hardware and software to play the encrypted songs. The advent of iTunes did nothing to correct these deficiencies. The inconvenience of having songs only in an encrypted format was (and continues to be) altogether comparable to the inconveniences of having to buy a whole album to obtain a single song, or having to travel physically to a store instead of purchasing online."
Tenenbaum's lawyers argued during the trial that he should be ordered to pay as little as 99 cents for each song, which is about the same amount he would have paid to legally purchase the songs online.
A post on Tenenbaum's blog, JoelFightsBack.com, reads, "Who could possibly think that a massive and entirely arbitrary verdict of $675,000 for sharing songs valued at (at most) $30 comports with any of our traditional notions of fairness and Due Process?"
In July 2009, Joel Tenenbaum, 25, was ordered to pay $22,500 for each of the 30 songs he shared on Napster and Kazaa back in 2004.
In a motion filed on Jan. 4, 2010, Tenenbaum's lawyers say Judge Nancy Gertner came down too hard on Tenenbaum, adding that he is one of millions who have downloaded and shared music.
"The fact that digital media was DRM-free on Napster and Kazaa contributed substantially to their immense public appeal," the filing states. "Encryption, by contrast, limited transferability and necessitated proprietary hardware and software to play the encrypted songs. The advent of iTunes did nothing to correct these deficiencies. The inconvenience of having songs only in an encrypted format was (and continues to be) altogether comparable to the inconveniences of having to buy a whole album to obtain a single song, or having to travel physically to a store instead of purchasing online."
Tenenbaum's lawyers argued during the trial that he should be ordered to pay as little as 99 cents for each song, which is about the same amount he would have paid to legally purchase the songs online.
A post on Tenenbaum's blog, JoelFightsBack.com, reads, "Who could possibly think that a massive and entirely arbitrary verdict of $675,000 for sharing songs valued at (at most) $30 comports with any of our traditional notions of fairness and Due Process?"
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Article Topics
News · Digital Rights · Legal · Digital Media · Digital Rights · Legal · Drm · Riaa ·About the Author
Steve Crowe, Web Editor
Steve is an editor for cepro.com. He graduated from Emerson College with a B.A. in Journalism. He joined the CE Pro staff in 2008. Steve is also a freelance sports writer for The Boston Globe and other various publications.
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