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US judge reduces filesharing fine by 90%
09:08 | Monday July 12, 2010
The judge in one of the most high-profile P2P case in the US has reduced the fine the defendant must pay by 90%.
Boston student Joel Tenenbaum was originally ordered to pay $675,000 (£450,000) last year for filesharing 30 tracks over a P2P network.
Now US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner has stated that the original fine was “unconstitutionally excessive” and decreed that Tenenbaum should pay $67.5k (£45k)
She said, "This award is far greater than necessary to serve the government's legitimate interests in compensating copyright owners and deterring infringement. In fact, it bears no meaningful relationship to these objectives.”
Gertner added that the new, lower, fine would still act as a deterrent to other filesharers.
The RIAA has said that it disagrees with the reduction and plans to appeal it.
Readers' comments
Now first of I am all for trying to change the current public perception that all music can be made and distributed at 0 cost and that file sharing is a completely victimless crime. But why on earth is the RIAA appealing this decision, I do not know anything about Joel Tennenbaum but I think it would be a fair assumption that a student is not sitting on £67.5k, let one £675k! Well done RIAA, way to make yourself look even MORE out of touch with current shifting consumer trends and enforce the image that music industry is nothing more than a collection of fat cats in suits, smoking cigars, hoarding up copyrights so that no one may ever enjoy one of life's most simple cherished pleasures, MUSIC without their permission. And god forbid anyone that stands in their way. Ridiculous
Who get the money? The recold label or the artists who's songs have been shared? Humm