Award slashed in RIAA vs Tenenbaum
p2pnet view P2P | RIAA:- “In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v Tenenbaum, the court has reduced the jury’s award from $675,000, or $22,500 per infringed work, to $67,500, or $2,250 per infringed work, on due process grounds, holding the jury’s award was unconstitutionally excessive.
In a 64-page decision (.pdf), district judge Nancy Gertner (right) ruled that >>>
- The Gore, Campbell, and Williams line of cases was applicable to determining the constitutionality of statutory damages awards;
- Statutory damages must bear a reasonable relationship to the actual damages; and,
- The usual statutory damages award in even more egregious commercial cases is from 2 to 6 times the actual damages.
However, after concluding the actual damages in this case were ~ $1 per infringed work, she entered a judgment for 2,250 times that amount.
Go figure.
Ray Beckerman – Recording Industry vs The People
… and identi.ca
July, 2010
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July 10th, 2010 at 9:55 am
And she cited Capitol v. Thomas in her decision. This is what the industry most feared.
July 10th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Even if it was 25 cents, I wouldn’t pay those idiots a DIME. I would, however, give them something that really means something to me: a middle finger.
July 10th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Haha!
Still excessive but…
I wonder if U.S. Copyright group is paying attention? Suddenly their threats of suing for $150,000 per single infringement have little teeth.
In fact, the new award imposed by the court ($2250) is even less than the $2500 settlement amount they are asking for per single infringement claim.
July 11th, 2010 at 6:33 am
It is still waaaaay too much – I’m with RB it should of course be 35c per tune.
July 11th, 2010 at 9:11 am
“It is still waaaaay too much – I’m with RB it should of course be 35c per tune.”
I agree completely. However RB is a copyright lawyer and the fact that he is only focused on the RIAA (though when he began they were the biggest threat) is commendable, but he’s been silent on so many other copyright issues, like the USCG’s recent attacks, that he’s becoming an afterthought. He needs to rename his blog and get back to work on the many other copyfights going on, because he’s becoming just as irrelevant as the RIAA. His blog has gone from a daily visit to a monthly visit due to his neglect of all the other copyright battles currently happening. Unless you’re only interested in ongoing court cases from 2 years ago, his blog has sadly become a waste of time:(
He has all my respect, and I hate to say it all, but it’s true.
Maybe he’s ok with all that and is moving on to other things, but I always valued his thought more than most everyone else’s.
The war is not over, Ray. It’s only begun.
July 11th, 2010 at 10:19 am
@ RW: ‘RB is a copyright lawyer’
You really need to think twice before making incorrect statements on subjects about which you have zero knowledge.
“Unless you’re only interested in ongoing court cases from 2 years ago”
RIvTP is a repository of priceless info, data and documents on the continuing efforts by Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music to screw their own customers, and anyone else who stands in their way, pervert justice, and poison the internet, turning it into a corporate junk pile.
The RIAA is for the moment sidelined, but it’s a festering sore that won’t heal and anyone who thinks its day is done needs to think again.
Materials on the ongoing court cases from two years ago aren’t merely valuable and relevant today, they’re essential.
And it’s obviously escaped you, but no one has built fat bank accounts by representing Big 4 victims, or posting day-in, day-out on RIAA infamy, least of all lawyers such as Ray. The only people who are still getting rich from the RIAA lawsuits are the feral lawyers who’ve been raking it in as RIAA mercenaries and, of course, RIAA mouthpieces such as Mitch Bainwol and Cary Sherman.
Think about it.
Cheers!
July 11th, 2010 at 10:52 am
I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said, Jon, but still believe in what I said.
From Ray’s own page:
-I am a business lawyer in New York City, practicing at Ray Beckerman, P.C.. The purpose of this site is to collect and share information about the wave of sham “copyright infringement” lawsuits brought by four large record companies, AND OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN TO DIGITAL ONLINE COPYRIGHT LAW.
-Ray Beckerman
Emphasis my own. I’m not trying to diss Ray, but he has been mostly silent on the “OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN TO DIGITAL ONLINE COPYRIGHT LAW”.
July 11th, 2010 at 11:05 am
@ RW:’I don’t disagree … ‘
Tell you what — Michael, is it? — when for years, you contribute your own time, effort and money to produce a site such as Ray’s, feel feel to criticise. Until then, best not to say anything.
Cheers!
July 11th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I also find it to be somewhat sad that of all the reports so far on this event, only ARS has even mentioned that both Judge Davis’s and Judge Gertner’s, (though they are still constitutionally outrageous) reduced judgments are less than USCG’s settlement requests.
July 11th, 2010 at 11:21 am
I love it when people who don’t do anything whine at people who do.
July 11th, 2010 at 11:24 am
What happened to freedom of speech, Jon? Am I not entitled to my opinion even if you disagree?
Did I not praise Ray for what what he’s done? I repeat… HE HAS ALL MY RESPECT!
July 11th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@ RW/Michael: ‘What happened to freedom of speech’ …
Nothing. Your comments are there, aren’t they? I only delete your troll posts.
Meanwhile, ’sad’ isn’t the word to use for the fact that in Ars, Nate mentions Gertner’s decision bodes ill for the ‘USCG’s settlement requests’. Nor are ’settlement’ or ‘requests’ appropriate.
USCG is short for US Copyright Group, the venal lawyers http://www.p2pnet.net/story/40437 trying to re-configure RIAA-created extortion demands under the guise of ’settlements’and ‘requests’.
Cheers!
July 11th, 2010 at 11:41 am
All I know is this.
If the RIAA lawyers have any success in collecting any money from Tenenbaum, which I doubt,
we songwriters will get nothing from that money.
First, we songwriters have given away our songs to the music publishers. Our give away contracts say nothing about income from lawsuits.
The music publishers account to us only a fraction whatever is paid to them by the record companies and the performance rights organizations such as ASCAP who also pay a fraction of what they collect.
There is never a payment for money collected through lawsuits or lawsuit (always confidential, guess why) settlements from our very own songs. Only lawyers and publishers share the money.
July 11th, 2010 at 11:56 am
“Meanwhile, ’sad’ isn’t the word to use for the fact that in Ars, Nate mentions Gertner’s decision bodes ill for the ‘USCG’s settlement requests’.”
That was my point. My intent of the word “sad” was that no one other than Nate has pointed that out.
July 11th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
@ Songwriter
Jon, seems to think I’m an enemy troll here, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’m a musician and songwriter too. Retired now. Never had any love for or association with the likes of the RIAA.
The music “industry” has always always been a scam. Here’s a nice breakdown of their money trail that makes sure only THEY get paid…
http://www.theroot.com/views/how-much-do-you-musicians-really-make?GT1=38002
July 11th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
On CBC it’s stated:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/07/10/downloading-fine.html
“I still don’t have $70,000 — and $2,000 per song still seems ridiculous in light of the fact that you can buy them for 99 cents on iTunes,” Tenenbaum said. “I mean $675,000 was also absurd.”
I don’t want to take this topic off track, but isn’t the new proposed Canadian copyright law asking for $5,000 per infringement? I Believe it is. Thus when this does hit Canada people just like this Boston grad student will be hit for double the amount ($150,000) that was just awarded to the RIAA.
Grandma & grandpa, mom & dad, will be losing their house. Unless of course they pay the elevated extortion fee’s like the Americans have been doing, which I don’t think will go over here quite as well.