With the positive publicity his case has attracted, Joel Tenenbaum will most likely be ordered to pay a much lesser fine than what the RIAA are suing him for
Joel Tenenbaum's account of his ongoing lawsuit defense, 'How it feels to be sued for $4.5m', is a must-read for anyone who is, or has ever been guilty of illegally sharing music. Music piracy is seen as a serious offense, especially in the eyes of musicians and record labels; but with the internet being as liberal as it is, is it too late for the authorities to eradicate music piracy?
By his own admission, Tenenbaum is guilty of sharing music, but as he thought-provokingly put it, why are the authorities
treating him as though his offense is as serious as investment fraud or casino robbery?
The lawsuit against him has proven me wrong in my assumption that no one sues people for what they don't have, as is the case with the RIAA vs. Tenenbaum case. What is the point of suing him for $4.5 million, when he was not even able to pay the RIAA $10,500 in settlement money?
It is simple. They want to make an example of him. The question is, is anyone listening or taking them seriously? His earlier refusals to heed the warnings and letters to cease his piracy are not unique. What is the point of using one man (out of millions) as a scapegoat, when no one seems to acknowledge the consequences of piracy any longer?
Via twitter, the world is witnessing Joel's fight against the RIAA which officially began today, in a case which his legal team describes as "defending the average Davids against the corporate Goliath." His team of legal counsellors consists of Harvard students and their professor, and regardless of the verdict which is handed down at the end of the case, their admirable courage and willpower will not be forgotten.
Joel Tenenbaum, with the help of his talented team of legal counsellors, did what no one has ever done before: He stood up to the RIAA
On their blog, they wrote:
"The plaintiffs and the RIAA are seeking to punish him (Tenebaum) beyond any rational measure of the damage he allegedly caused. They do this, not for the purpose of recovering compensation for actual damage caused by Joel’s individual action, nor for the primary purpose of deterring him from further copyright infringement, but for the ulterior purpose of creating an urban legend so frightening to children using computers, and so frightening to parents and teachers of students using computers, that they will somehow reverse the tide of the digital future."
It is heartening to read that the RIAA's motives are obvious to them as well, and that people are seeing straight through their desperate, last-ditch efforts such as this lawsuit, to end what has now become widespread. As I suspected, and as the excerpt above states, the $4.5 million figure is not one which addresses the damages caused by Tenenbaum's piracy. It must be asked, that if the result of this similar case failed to deter Tenenbaum (or anyone else for that matter) from music sharing, is there anything unique to his case, that will miraculously eradicate piracy now?
Be reminded, that this article is not a suggestion that a law should be re-written when it is established that everyone is breaking it. It is just a call for the dismissal of outdated punishments, where one man is used as an example to deter others. We do not live in those times anymore. The internet-driven generation that we currently live in, calls for an updated method of crime prevention and law enforcement where music sharing is concerned, which disallows the kind of bullying that is so often seen in cases like this.
Good luck Mr. Tenenbaum. I am sure that the world is behind you.
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