Student Ordered to Pay RIAA $675,000

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Joel Tenebaum, the Boston University graduate student, has been ordered to pay $675,000 for copyright infringement. The bright side is that he didn’t get Jammie-smacked for $80k a song…but still, $22k per song?

Jurors ordered Tenenbaum to pay $22,500 for each incident of copyright infringement, effectively finding that his actions were willful. The attorney for the 25-year-old student had asked the jury earlier Friday to "send a message" to the music industry by awarding only minimal damages. Tenenbaum said he was thankful that the case wasn't in the millions and contrasted the significance of his fine with the maximum.
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Bankruptcy lawyers have it good now. With the company bailouts, people in debt from being unemployed and the RIAA suing people for more than they make in a lifetime. Ah yes, it's a good time to be a bankruptcy lawyer.
 
Thats crap, I hope he never pays it and tells them to shove it.


Rediculous a judge thinks 22k per song is fair, what if I had it taped off a radio station? Would they do the same.

People have shared music and copied movies. How can a TVR be legal and when you download a TVR recording it be illegal?

All of it is flawed and needs to be rethought out.
 
I don't know how Bankruptcy works in the US, but here (Quebec) it leaves a mark in your credit report for 10 years before it disappear.

So yeah, this guy would not be able to get any kind of loan or credit for 10 years, but it's better than having to pay $675K....
 
Sound like it's fake-your-own-death-and-move-to-another-country time.
 
So now everyone knows what can happen to you when you get caught. First the Minnesota woman and now this guy.

When you get caught committing copyright infringement.. don't go off crying that it's not fair, because its apparent that you will get taken to the cleaners when you get caught.
 
Met-AL said:
So now everyone knows what can happen to you when you get caught. First the Minnesota woman and now this guy.

When you get caught committing copyright infringement.. don't go off crying that it's not fair, because its apparent that you will get taken to the cleaners when you get caught.
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It's not that people are complaining about getting caught. If I got caught, I wouldn't. But you know what I WOULD complain about? The ridiculous fucking fees and measures the people that ARE caught get put through. It's fucking ridiculous.
 
So now everyone knows what can happen to you when you get caught. First the Minnesota woman and now this guy.
When you get caught committing copyright infringement.. don't go off crying that it's not fair, because its apparent that you will get taken to the cleaners when you get caught.

I don't think that these people are not guilty but I think that the punishment far out ways the crime.
That and if your not guilty and they accuse you of this its far cheaper to just pay the settlement to clear your name than to try and fight this.
 
this goes right along with the laws that let an NFL player get off with 30 to 90 days in jail for killing a guy while driving drunk, while mike vick got 4 friggin years in federal pound you in the ass penn for friggin dog fighting.....

im not saying dog fighting is ok, but since when is the penalty for that worse than murder?

sort of like this, we have movie stars like nick cage who owe the irs 6.2 million and do you think they are gonna go after him??

fuck no


damn what a monday
 
Lamont Cranston said:
this goes right along with the laws that let an NFL player get off with 30 to 90 days in jail for killing a guy while driving drunk, while mike vick got 4 friggin years in federal pound you in the ass penn for friggin dog fighting.....

im not saying dog fighting is ok, but since when is the penalty for that worse than murder?

sort of like this, we have movie stars like nick cage who owe the irs 6.2 million and do you think they are gonna go after him??

fuck no


damn what a monday
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Not a fair comparison. Vick did the crime intentionally while the NFL DUI accident was just that: an accident - although we know not to drink and drive and that it increases our chance of accidents. But it's still an accident.
 
Met-AL said:
So now everyone knows what can happen to you when you get caught. First the Minnesota woman and now this guy.

When you get caught committing copyright infringement.. don't go off crying that it's not fair, because its apparent that you will get taken to the cleaners when you get caught.
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Yep, penalty for downloading music is having your life destroyed. Consider manslaughter or drug dealing first, its safer.
 
Truckweb said:
I don't know how Bankruptcy works in the US, but here (Quebec) it leaves a mark in your credit report for 10 years before it disappear.

So yeah, this guy would not be able to get any kind of loan or credit for 10 years, but it's better than having to pay $675K....
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With so many people gone bankrupt over medical bills or the housing crisis, its not really a big deal. Credit score can be restored within 3 years though it stays on the credit report for 10.

Of course most of those people have horrible credit scores in the first place, this guy might have perfect credit and be reduced to nothing. Such is the might of corporate power in America. :rolleyes:
 
Azhar said:
while the NFL DUI accident was just that: an accident
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Actually it may not have even been an accident. Stallworth claimed that the victim ran in front of his car. He wasn't in a crosswalk, and it was reported that he was rushing to catch a bus. Had Stallworth not been driving drunk, he probably wouldn't have served any time at all. I thought I read that there was video evidence of what took place, but I haven't seen anything further about it.
 
With a good cosigner you can rebuild your credit despite the mark very quickly.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Actually it may not have even been an accident. Stallworth claimed that the victim ran in front of his car. He wasn't in a crosswalk, and it was reported that he was rushing to catch a bus. Had Stallworth not been driving drunk, he probably wouldn't have served any time at all. I thought I read that there was video evidence of what took place, but I haven't seen anything further about it.
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Ah ok. I haven't heard about this event. I was generalizing DUI related accidents.
 
I thank my lucky stars that I live in Canada.

...for now. I'm sure the American recording lobby will win whatever it is they're after on this side of the border. Our politicians aren't exactly men and women with balls.They tend to cave to the will of lobby groups more than their constituents.

But...applying corporate penalties like this to individuals is just silly. The fact that the jurors gave such a high penalty per song makes me wonder though...why are so many regular citizens drinking the RIAA Koolaid? Is there money/goods exchanging hands?


Until the Canadian "DMCA" passes.....YARRRRR!
 
If i was on that jury, i would have gone for the full fine tbh. You pirate, you deserve to get fucked.
 
And to put it way out of perspective, a Teen can commit murder and get a years probation...

But the music is safe!

Met-AL said:
So now everyone knows what can happen to you when you get caught. First the Minnesota woman and now this guy.

When you get caught committing copyright infringement.. don't go off crying that it's not fair, because its apparent that you will get taken to the cleaners when you get caught.
Click to expand...
 
criccio said:
He was using Kazaa... :rolleyes:
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Haha, oh boy...

I do agree that a lot of these sentences seem out of wack when you have Stallworth get off with only 30 days or so in jail after having killed a guy while driving drunk. It just doesn't make sense.
 
4saken said:
If i was on that jury, i would have gone for the full fine tbh. You pirate, you deserve to get fucked.
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I hope you get a $675,000 speeding ticket one day. You speed, you deserve to get fucked. :rolleyes:

There's no way anyone can honestly say that this is fair. I understand that pirating is illegal, but $675K or $1.92 million for downloading 30 (or fewer) songs is absolute bullshit. A fine of $25K would still be high IMO, but it would send the same message, and wouldn't absolutely destroy a person.
 
MittWaffen said:
People have shared music and copied movies. How can a TVR be legal and when you download a TVR recording it be illegal?
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Personal use vs. distribution.

You can record TV shows on your PVR for your own use (though even that has been fought by the tv industry from back in the days of the first VCRs). But if you distribute that recording or try to get that recording, you are violating copyright law.
 
Hurdler said:
I hope you get a $675,000 speeding ticket one day. You speed, you deserve to get fucked. :rolleyes:

There's no way anyone can honestly say that this is fair. I understand that pirating is illegal, but $675K or $1.92 million for downloading 30 (or fewer) songs is absolute bullshit. A fine of $25K would still be high IMO, but it would send the same message, and wouldn't absolutely destroy a person.
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Then don't pirate. It's that simple.

When you speed, you know there's a risk of getting caught and pulled over or mailed a ticket. By now you should also know if if you pirate music or software, you're gonna get nailed hard.

Sure it's high, but it doesn't really matter. Like speeding, you shouldn't do it anyways!
 
Hurdler said:
I hope you get a $675,000 speeding ticket one day. You speed, you deserve to get fucked. :rolleyes:

There's no way anyone can honestly say that this is fair. I understand that pirating is illegal, but $675K or $1.92 million for downloading 30 (or fewer) songs is absolute bullshit. A fine of $25K would still be high IMO, but it would send the same message, and wouldn't absolutely destroy a person.
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Hes lucky thats all that happened since he commited THEFT. he shoulda been sent to pound me in the ass prison too.
 
What do artists make per album? Like thirty cents? Think what they make per song. You shouldn't steal music, but your life shouldn't be ruined because of it. Jail would've been a much better punishment than being charged $675,000. Bad/no credit puts you on the streets.
 
Azhar said:
Not a fair comparison. Vick did the crime intentionally while the NFL DUI accident was just that: an accident - although we know not to drink and drive and that it increases our chance of accidents. But it's still an accident.
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No, drinking and driving is NEVER accident. NEVER. You made a choice to drink then drive. If you drink and drive...you are a fucking moron beyond reason.
 
Hurdler said:
I hope you get a $675,000 speeding ticket one day. You speed, you deserve to get fucked. :rolleyes:

There's no way anyone can honestly say that this is fair. I understand that pirating is illegal, but $675K or $1.92 million for downloading 30 (or fewer) songs is absolute bullshit. A fine of $25K would still be high IMO, but it would send the same message, and wouldn't absolutely destroy a person.
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Azhar said:
Then don't pirate. It's that simple.

When you speed, you know there's a risk of getting caught and pulled over or mailed a ticket. By now you should also know if if you pirate music or software, you're gonna get nailed hard.

Sure it's high, but it doesn't really matter. Like speeding, you shouldn't do it anyways!
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4saken said:
Hes lucky thats all that happened since he commited THEFT. he shoulda been sent to pound me in the ass prison too.
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I have 15,000 songs, they're all free.:D

good day
 
Hurdler said:
A fine of $25K would still be high IMO, but it would send the same message, and wouldn't absolutely destroy a person.
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I think that's the best approach for the RIAA to actually get some money out of people. Who would file bankruptcy over $25k? Not many.

But, they're not looking to get big fines out of people right now, they want to make headline news out of them.
 
4saken said:
Hes lucky thats all that happened since he commited THEFT. he shoulda been sent to pound me in the ass prison too.
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Ya he really should spend 10 years in prison and pay $675,000 for $30 worth of music. What's the penalty for petty theft? Because that's exactly what this is.
 
Yup they are going for headlines.... They know they won't get the money. They usually offer settlements for 3k (for the money). Now that is a shake down.

Some here just don't understand... people aren't getting sued and busted for downloading songs. They are getting busted for SHARING the songs they downloaded to others...

Sharing is essentially distribution, this is where these large fines come from (+ punitive/damages awards).

It's NOT the 1 song you have on your HDD that costs 20k... Its the 100s or 1000s of people you gave that 1 song to, that costs 20k.

I agree though these penalties seem out of wack, they seem to be more inline with company mass distribution and not tailored to the consumer offense.
 
Truckweb said:
I don't know how Bankruptcy works in the US, but here (Quebec) it leaves a mark in your credit report for 10 years before it disappear.

So yeah, this guy would not be able to get any kind of loan or credit for 10 years, but it's better than having to pay $675K....
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A mark on the credit history of a student is still preferable to a gigantic judgment... Sure he probably won't pay shit now, but once he's working they'll garnish his wages, prevent him from buying a house without satisfying, other wise screw up his universe...
 
4saken said:
Hes lucky thats all that happened since he commited THEFT. he shoulda been sent to pound me in the ass prison too.
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Copyright infringement is not, and will never be, theft. If I steal a car, someone else is left carless. If I download a song, an additional copy of the song magically springs into existence and nobody is denied the use of the song. They're different legal concepts, and for good reason.

You wouldn't download a car :rolleyes:
 
Trepidati0n said:
No, drinking and driving is NEVER accident. NEVER. You made a choice to drink then drive. If you drink and drive...you are a fucking moron beyond reason.
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I agree with the being a moron bit, but I disagree about it never being an accident. I've never met a drunk driver who wants to kill another person.

It may be stupid beyond doubt, but it's still a very unfortunate and tragic accident.
 
Azhar said:
I agree with the being a moron bit, but I disagree about it never being an accident. I've never met a drunk driver who wants to kill another person.

It may be stupid beyond doubt, but it's still a very unfortunate and tragic accident.
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No. We use the word "accident" too much in society these days. The correct definition of accident is "anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause" but we like to use the definition of "an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury".

Back on point...guess we can call this guy being convicted an "accident" since it was an unfortunate mishap. I mean he knew what he was doing was wrong...but he didn't mean to get caught. :rolleyes:
 
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