Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Feds, RIAA ask for $22,500 in damages per song

The Obama administration & the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) were urging the circuit to reinstate a $675,000 file sharing verdict that a Boston jury levied against Joel Tenenbaum, the nation’s second defendant to go to trial against the RIAA in an individual file sharing case. U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner reduced the verdict to $67,500 last year.
Both sides appealed, with Tenenbaum claiming it was still too excessive, and the RIAA and government arguing the reduction was an abuse of judicial power.
The Copyright Act allows damages ranging from $750 an infringement to $150,000.
The RIAA had sued thousands of individuals for file sharing over five years ending last year. Most defendants have settled out of court for a few thousand dollars.

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