UPDATE: Minn. Peer-to-Peer Song Filcher Socked with $220k Judgment

Image via CrunchBase

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has weighed in on the epic three-year litigation war between the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") and Minnesotan Jammie Thomas-Rasset, whose love of sharing copyrighted songs on the defunct KaZaA is going to cost her $220,000.

In Capitol Records, Inc. et al. v. Jammie Thomas Rasset  (Case No. 11-2820), the appellate court assessed the defendant $9,250 for each of 24 copyrighted '80s and '90s hits she downloaded, ranging from Green Day's Basket Case to Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.  The parties have gone through three trials dating back to 2007 and seen damage awards for copyright infringement soar to $1.5 million and plunge to $54,000 (see "TUOL" posts 7/25/11, 1/29/10, 1/26/10).  Rasset was one of the first individuals to contest peer-to-peer copyright suits filed by the RIAA against devotees of defunct companies such as KaZaA and Lime Wire.

UPDATE: O, Tenenbaum, O, Tenenbaum, the High Court Says It's Over

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)The United States Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Tenenbaum v. Sony BMG Music et al. (Docket No. 11-1019), leaving former Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum of Providence, Rhode Island, on the hook for a $675,000 copyright infringement jury award to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Justice Stephen Breyer and Chief Justice John Roberts did not participate in the ruling, according to the Associated Press. Harvard Law School Prof. Charles Nesson filed a petition for certiorari on February 13, 2012, seeking to overturn a jury verdict that awarded the RIAA $22,500 for each of 30 songs Tenenbaum unlawfully downloaded and shared from the now-defunct peer-to-peer network KaZaA in 2004.

The petitioner had asked the High Court to address whether the damages provision of the U.S. Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 504] "applied to noncommercial individuals without requirement of nexus with actual damages." U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judge Nancy Gertner reduced the damages award as excessive, but the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reinstated the jury verdict last year. (See "TUOL" posts 9/19/11, 7/9/10, 8/3/09 & 7/28/09.)

UPDATE: 1st Circ. Tells Tenenbaum He Should've Quit While He Was Behind

Image via WikipediaIn Sony BMG  Music Entertainment et al. v. Joel Tenenbaum (Case Nos. 10-1883, 10-1947, 10-2052), the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit last week reinstated the $675,000 judgment awarded the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") in 2009 against Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum in a copyright infringement suit arising from his downloading of 30 copyrighted songs in 2004 from the defunct peer-to-peer network KaZaA (see "TUOL" posts 7/9/10, 8/3/09, 7/28/09).

The appellate court faulted now-retired U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judge Nancy Gertner for ruling the judgment was "unconstitutionally excessive" and reducing it to $67,500. A jury had found Tenenbaum's infringement by downrighting copyrighted tunes from Beck, Nirvana and other artists to be willful and assessed damages of $22,500 for each of the 30 songs, within the damages range permissible under the copyright statute (17 U.S.C. sec. 101), which Judge Gertner slashed by a factor of ten to $2,250 per song.

The appellate court said Judge Gertner erred procedurally by tackling the constitutionality question before addressing Tenenbaum's remittitur motion (a request for a judge to reduce a jury award). The First Circuit in its 65-page decision did suggest "Congress may wish to examine" some of the Copyright Act issues raised by the case.

Defense attorneys contended that the Digital Theft Deterrence Act and federal copyright provisions were not supposed to target consumers. Tenenbaum appealed Gertner's finding, saying at the time that he couldn't afford to pay $67,500, so the four victorious record labels shouldn't step up their spending in anticipation of getting a $675,000 money order from Tenenbaum anytime soon.

Burnt LimeWire Shut Down by Court for Copyright Infringement

Image via Wikipedia
Ruling that the defendant commercial P2P music downloading service "intentionally encouraged direct [copyright] infringement," U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Kimba Wood has ordered LimeWire to cease distribution of its file-sharing software.


Although its owner claims the entity is still in business, LimeWire shut its Web site Wednesday, posting the following message:  "This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software. Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal."

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued LimeWire in 2006 on behalf of a dozen plaintiffs, including Sony Music Entertainment, Capitol Records and Arista Records, alleging copyright infringement, unfair competition and inducing others to commit copyright infringement (Arista Records LLC et al. v. Lime Group, LLC, Case No. 1:06-cv-05936 ) [see "TUOL" post 5/13/10].

Judge Wood found that LimeWire affirmatively marketed itself to Napster users, whom she characterized as "known copyright infringers." Although the freeze on distributing its software essentially squeezes LimeWire, networks such as Bit Torrent and Gnutella are still up and running.

A trial is slated for January 2011, to determine the damages sustained by the RIAA.

UPDATE: Judge Reduces Damages KaZaA-Lovin' Grad Student Must Pay RIAA

Image via Wikipedia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts Judge Nancy Gertner's 62-page order ought to be music to the ears of notorious P2P Boston Univ. grad student Joel Tenenbaum and no doubt struck a sour chord in the halls of the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA").

 Judge Gertner ruled that the amount of damages the jury determined that Tenenbaum owed record companies for unlawfully downloading copyrighted songs was "unconstitutionally excessive." In Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Joel Tenenbaum (Case No.  07-cv-114446), the jury awarded four record companies $675,000 in total for Tenenbaurm's 2004 downloading of 30 copyrighted songs from defunct peer-to-peer network KaZaA, including Beck's Loser and Nirvana's Come As You Are, that he proceeded to share online.[See "TUOL" posts 8/3/09 & 7/28/09.]

Judge Gertner reduced the judgment against Tenenbaum to  $67,500, one-tenth of the jury's award. She said that the damages amount was still severe and a deterrent to others who might infringe on copyrighted works, Judge Gertner said her ruling also makes clear that the constitutional protection against excessive punitive awards applies equally to "ordinary people" such as the BU grad student as it does to large corporations.

Tenenbaum told The Boston Globe that he was pleased by the reduced award, but hastened to add that the $67,500 judgment was beyond his ability to pay as well.  Here's some unsolicited legal advice to the defendant from the crackerjack "TUOL" legal team: when a 5-star gourmet restaurant comps your meal, it's not polite to ask for seconds.

Court Squeezes LimeWire

Image via CrunchBase

LimeWire, one of the largest commercial P2P music downloading services, was rocked this week by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Kimba Wood, who ruled for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on its claims of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and inducing others to commit copyright infringement.

The 59-page opinion in  Arista Records, LLC et al. v. Lime Group, LLC (Case No. 1:06-cv-05936) found LimeWire, a software file sharing company, and its Chair, Mark Gorton, were both liable for inducing copyright infringement. According to the RIAA, more than 200 million copies of LimeWire's software has been downloaded to date.

Besides the free software version, LimeWire sells an "Extended Pro" version for $34.95 annually. Although it outlasted Napster and other rivals, LimeWire has not kept pace with faster competitors such as BitTorrent.  Judge Wood will meet with the litigants on June 1, where topics such as monetary damages and the possibility of the parties collaborating in the future doubtless will be addressed.