In 2007, Joel Tenenbaum was accused of downloading and sharing thirty-one mp3-files. Today the federal Court of Massachusetts upheld the amount of $675,000.- damages awarded to – amongst others – Sony BMG Music Entertainment, thereby turning down Tenenbaum's request for a new jury-trial. 

Whether or not Tenenbaum infringed copyright was not an issue in this last verdict, since he has been found guilty of those charges in previous cases. However, Tenenbaum argued that the awarded damages were disproportionate, for he considers the amount to be excessive. According to the U.S. District Court Judge, the damages awarded are not disproportionate, in relation to Tenenbaum’s actions. For over two years Tenenbaum downloaded and distributed music files, despite multiple warnings by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 

According to the Court, a penalty of $675,000.- is at the low end of the range for will-full infringement, yet it could be considered inordinate considering the offence committed. A previous judge in Tenenbaum’s case agreed that the amount determined was “excessive”, and reduced it to $67,500.-, yet this decision was revoked at a later point by a different judge. In the U.S., the calculation of damages payable is not based on actual damage suffered by the industry, but on statutory provisions; Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. enables judges to award statutory damages up to $150,000.- per track.  In this case, the statutory damages have been determined at an average of $22,000.- per track. 

The question of appropriate compensation for damages to victims of copyright infringing activities remains a compelling legal issue, as the various case law ranges between demands for relatively small amounts and tremendous claims, depending on many factors. Especially in the U.S., copyright claims tend to be astronomical. In Europe, we have already seen judges struggling with this issue, although claims against individuals are still rather uncommon. In Sweden for example, a judge tried to establish a more realistic situation; there the accused was fined to pay 45 Swedish Kroner per track, the equivalent of €5 or $7. The recent decision on compensation in Tenenbaums case is, in European eyes, outlandish.  However, for the development of case law on this issue, the case is to be taken very seriously as it reflects the current state of the legal framework on digital copyright infringements in the U.S.. Tenenbaum’s attorney will appeal this decision, as he confirmed in an e-mail to Cnet.  

The court order can be found here. 

We have written about Tenenbaum’s case before, those articles can be found here: 

• U.S. Supreme Court dismisses appeal in file-sharing case against $675.000 fine for 30 songs.
• US Appeal court: $675000,- fine for sharing 30 illegal music files is reasonable
• Judge decimates Tenenbaum damages, cuts them by 90%

Sources: Tweakers, Cnet

Written by: Nathalie Falot