Andre Yoskowitz
25 Aug 2012 13:55
Joel Tenenbaum has lost another appeal this week, and must pay the RIAA $675,000 in statutory damages.
The new ruling upheld the original jury trial verdict from back in 2009.
At one point during the trial, which has taken almost half a decade, the fine was reduced to just $27,500, but the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal reinstated the original verdict in 2011. The Supreme Court declined to review the case this year.
80-year old US District Court judge Rya Zobel ruled that the damages awarded to the RIAA were proportionate given the fact he had pirated for an 8-year period and showed no remorse during the trials: "In spite of the overwhelming evidence from which the jury could conclude that Tenenbaum's activities were willful, the award of $22,500 per infringement not only was at the low end of the range – only 15% of the statutory maximum – for willful infringement, but was below the statutory maximum for non-willful infringement. Considering all of the aforementioned evidence, the jury's damage award was not so excessive as to merit remittitur."
There was no word from the Tenenbaum camp or the RIAA as of yet.