Andre Yoskowitz
7 Dec 2009 17:17
A federal judge has officially placed graduate student Joel Tenenbaum on the line for $675,000 USD, the fine he was given by a jury after being found guilty of sharing 30 unauthorized songs via P2P networks.
Judge Nancy Gertner signed off on the damages, meaning Universal gets $292,500, Warner gets $225,000, Sony BMG gets $112,500 and Arista gets $45,000.
Despite signing off on the giant fine, Judge Gertner once against expressed concern over the "astronomical penalties" available to copyright holders, and noted that Tenenbaum missed out on an opportunity to shape the future of fair use laws.
"As it made clear previously, the Court was prepared to consider a more expansive fair use argument than other courts have credited—perhaps one supported by facts specific to this individual and this unique period of rapid technological change. For example, file sharing for the purposes of sampling music prior to purchase or space-shifting to store purchased music more efficiently might offer a compelling case for fair use. Likewise, a defendant who used the new file-sharing networks in the technological interregnum before digital media could be purchased legally, but who later shifted to paid outlets, might also be able to rely on the defense," says Gertner.
Tenenbaum has said he will declare bankruptcy leaving the record labels with nothing if the fine is ruled constitutional on January 5th.