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 fire-sharing Web site and sued by the main recording companies in the U.S.
"We are pleased with the District Court's decision," was the comment from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is the industry trade group.
In 2007, the top four record companies filed a copyright infringement suit against Tenenbaum, a college student from Boston at the time. A jury found that Tenenbaum's infringement was willful and ordered him to pay $675,000 in damages. Tenenbaum argued that the jury award was unconstitutional and the federal judge who oversaw his trial agreed that the amount was "excessive."
When an appellate court agreed with the recording companies, Tenenbaum's attorney asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. It declined.
The decision is here (PDF)
More to come...
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