Illegal downloading spells big trouble for BU student
August 9, 2009 by Taylor HanniganPosted in: From the Courts, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
A federal jury gave a Boston University student much more than a slap on the wrist for illegally downloading and sharing music files.
At first, grad student Joel Tenenbaum said others may have been responsible for downloading songs to his computer. But he later admitted he was the culprit in the copyright infringement case.
The case focused on 30 songs Tenenbaum downloaded and shared. But a record label attorney painted him as a habitual offender, saying he downloaded more than 800 songs over an eight-year period.
The jury said Tenenbaum should pay $22,500 for each of the 30 incidents the case focused on. The total penalty: $675,000.
Tenenbaum’s lawyer says an appeal is planned.
Does the punishment fit the crime? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
HigherEdMorning delivers the latest HigherEd news once a week to the inboxes of over 200,000 HigherEd professionals.
Click here to sign up and start your FREE subscription to HigherEdMorning!
Loading ...
August 12th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I think that the websites that allow this should be the ones fined and even shut down by the FCC. If the sites don’t exist, then no one can download anything. These sites are making money over and over and these attornies are not going after them as they are the reason people are enticed to do the dowinloading.
do the punishment fit the crime? No, he should pay for the cost of a CD as oppose to the money that would be made off sales in for an entire year. $12 a CD (per incident) sounds more reasonable then paying a 1/2 year salary for a tracker.
August 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Pamela – there is no ONE website that allows this to happen. Its peer to peer file sharing – meaning a million people have a teeny bit of thousands of bites of one song. So its impossible to get just one person for sharing a file. (This is why they go after the person who downloads – cause they can)
August 12th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I understand that it’s a crime to illegal download music, but there are other types of crime much worst and the law protects the criminal. Example: rapists, stalkers, voyers, man beaters, women beaters, scam artists that target senior citizens, credit card companies, collection agencies, coyotes, pimps, child traffickers, organ traffickers, drug lords, corrupt police officers, corrupt doctors, murderers, child molestors…..etc. It’s outrageous and sickening. Who’s the law really protecting?
August 12th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
The fines are pointless – he already said if his appeal fails he’ll simply file bankruptcy and have the fines dismissed.
The real problem is the RIAA’s financial model. Yes, “albums” (to set a timeframe) used to be an important part of that revenue stream. Nowadays, however, the loss of money for sharing music is an infinitesimally small amount compared to the revenues generated by concerts, merchandising, and other promotional activities.
This isn’t to dismiss the value of the music, it’s to say that today the MUSIC is just part of the package that brings people to the concerts, and buys the t-shirts, etc. I’m not saying that the RIAA should openly advocate unwarranted sharing of music, but pursuing these types of extremely expensive litigations is simply a way for them to create fear, not money. In retail-speak, this trial is a “loss-leader” to discourage others from sharing with the hope that they’ll insetad buy the music… but who are they kidding?
They have no intention of re-couping their expenses, but hope their continued downward spiral of CD sales will somehow magically revive itself through the use of a few well-publicized trials.
Read this well-written article for your entertainment: h++p://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_industrys_decline
August 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I wonder how can they know that he was downloading?? Is there some privacy on the internet or not?
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:03 am
[...] Boston University grad student’s illegal downloading habits landed him in court where the jury found him guilty of copyright infringement. He was hit [...]
December 5th, 2009 at 2:01 am
[...] College cafeterias: ‘Got trays?’Changing trend: Courses that are drawing students nowSafety warning: Recall on stadium pole lightsIllegal downloading spells big trouble for BU student [...]