Music+Downloading


 * Title of Article**: Student must pay $675,000 in music downlodaing case
 * Author**: eSchool News

The nation's second music downloading case against a tried individual occured on July 31 after a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing over 800 songs online. Joel Tenenbaum, from Providence, R.I., had been issued by a federal jury to pay $675,000 to four record labels as a result of the 30 songs which the recording industry focused on during this case. Under federal law, the recording companies were entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement and as much as $150,000 per track if the jury believed such infringments could have been avoided. Moreover, the maximum jurors could have awarded in the case was $4.5 million. Tenenbaum's lawyer, Charles Nesson, often reffered to Tenenbaum as a "kid", and suggested such damages to be as little as 99 cents per song, nearly the same amount Tenenbaum would have had to to pay if he would have legally purchased the music online. In conclusion, jurors ordered Tenenbaum to pay $22,500 for each infringement, thus adding up to $675,000 as Tenenabum's total amount due.
 * Summary**:

I feel as if Tenenbaum's punishment for having been found guilty for downloading and sharing only 30 songs is harsh. I understand that the crime to this is the simple disrespect to artists and music companies, neglecting them of their pay for their diligent work. However, I do not agree that such a crime should pay such a heavy consequence. I somewhat agree with Tenenbaum's lawyer, Charles Nesson, in that one who commits such a crime should pay it back by paying what the song would normally cost, essentially buying what was stolen.
 * Reflection**: