tenenbaum

Court affirms $675,000 penalty in music-downloading case

A federal court in Massachusetts today upheld a $675,000 damages award against Joel Tenenbaum, who was accused of illegally downloading 31 songs from a file-sharing Web site and distributing them and was sued by the main recording companies in the U.S.

U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel rejected Tenenbaum's request for a new jury trial, saying jurors had appropriately considered the evidence of Tenenbaum's actions -- downloading and distributing files for two years despite warnings -- and the harm to the plaintiffs. The penalty is at the low end of the range for willful … Read more

Too much hubbub over Supreme Court declining Tenenbaum case

First thing to know about the case involving acknowledged music pirate Joel Tenenbaum is that it will likely go on...and on.

Much is being made about a decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear Tenenbaum's challenge to a jury ruling against him, one that left him with a $675,000 penalty hanging over his head.

In 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade group of the top four record companies, filed a copyright infringement suit against Tenenbaum, a then-college student from Boston who was accused of illegally downloading 31 songs from … Read more

RIAA suffers big setback in Tenenbaum case

The music industry suffered another high-profile legal setback on Friday when a federal judge reduced a damages award against a file sharer found liable for copyright violations.

A jury last year ordered Joel Tenenbaum, a Boston University student, to pay $675,000, after being found liable of copyright infringement, to the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group for the four largest record companies. But U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that the amount was "unconstitutionally excessive," according to a report in Boston.com, the Web site for The Boston Globe.

Tenenbaum must now pay one … Read more

BU student found liable in music-swapping case

A federal judge ruled late Thursday that Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old Boston University graduate student, has violated copyright infringement laws by illegally downloading and sharing music on the Internet.

Tenenbaum could end up owing the recording industry millions of dollars in damages for swapping music online. The jury is considering monetary damages on Friday. The question the jury must consider in assessing the damages is whether his infringement was willful. This will help determine how much in damages should be awarded to the four recording labels that sued him over the illegal file sharing.

The music studios are entitled to $… Read more

Joel Tenenbaum admits in court he shared music files

There's no subterfuge with Joel Tenenbaum.

The graduate student accused of copyright violations admitted in court on Thursday that he shared files and knew others were downloading the music he made available on Kazaa, according to a Twitter post from blogger Ben Sheffner.

Sheffner, a copyright lawyer who is covering the story from the courtroom, wrote "(Music industry) attorney getting scores of admissions from Tenenbaum. Joel doesn't resist."

The four major music labels, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI and Sony Music filed the copyright suit against Tenenbaum and in previous statements he denied sharing, … Read more