Music downloader ordered to pay $675K

This has got to suck.

A graduate student from Providence, R.I., who illegally downloaded and distributed 30 songs six years ago has been ordered to pay $675,000 in damages to four record labels.

For 30 songs he shared with friends. Ouch!

When Joel Tenenbaum faced trial for copyright infringement, he tried to settle the case for $5,000, but the offer was rejected and a Boston jury hit him with the hefty fine.

The 25-year-old Boston University graduate student is the second American to be taken to trial for illegally downloading music.

Tenenbaum reportedly has said he's grateful he wasn't ordered to pay millions of dollars but will have to file for bankruptcy if the verdict stands. He plans to appeal because he was not allowed to ague the case based on fair use.

During the trial, Tim Reynolds, a lawyer for the recording labels, called Tenenbaum "a hardcore, habitual, long-term infringer who knew what he was doing was wrong."

Tenenbaum (right)--who was described as "a hardcore, habitual, long-term infringer who knew what he was going was wrong" by a lawyer for the record labels--admitted he downloaded and shared songs by rock groups Green Day, Nirvana, and The Smashing Pumpkins, among others.

More than 30,000 people have settled similar cases for amounts ranging from $3,000 to $12,000, ABC News reported.

In 2007, Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Minnesota was the first person to be sued by record companies seeking damages for the illegal download and sharing of music files. She was ordered to pay $1.92 million to the labels, but her attorney says she doesn't have the money to for the damages and is asking for a new trial, according to the report.

I get it. The record companies have to make money--not good money, BIG money. But given the nearly endless opportunities the Internet offers music lovers, the labels are fighting a losing battle, if you ask me.

Source: ABC News
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Woman fined $2-mil for illegal music downloads

A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.

That's a bit stiff--isn't it?

Jammie Thomas-Rasset's case was the first such copyright infringement case to go to trial in the U.S., her attorney said according to a CNN report.

Attorney Joe Sibley said that his client was shocked at the fine, noting that the price tag on the songs she downloaded was 99 cents. She plans to appeal, he said.

Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said the RIIA was "pleased that the jury agreed with the evidence and found the defendant liable."

"We appreciate the jury's service and that they take this as seriously as we do," she said.

Thomas-Rasset downloaded work by artists such as No Doubt, Linkin Park, Gloria Estefan and Sheryl Crow.

This was the second trial for Thomas-Rasset. The judge ordered a retrial in 2007 after there was an error in the wording of jury instructions. The fines jumped considerably from the first trial, which granted just $220,000 to the recording companies.

Thomas-Rasset is married with four children and works for an Indian tribe in Minnesota.

Here's the thing: tons of people do this--tons. That doesn't make it legal, but it bothers me when one person is used to send a message to the others.

Going after everyone suspected of downloading music without paying the fees would be too expensive and time consuming--wouldn't it be? So the authorities make a big production of this case hoping it will scare enough people to stop their illegal downloads. We'll see if it works.

Sources: CNN
Copyright © 2009