Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum

It involved a 24-year-old student from Boston University named Joel Tenenbaum, who was sued by Sony BMG for downloading and sharing music files over the internet without permission.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum was a landmark case in the history of digital copyright infringement lawsuits in the United States. It involved a 24-year-old student from Boston University named Joel Tenenbaum, who was sued by Sony BMG for downloading and sharing music files over the internet without permission.

The case began in 2007 when Sony BMG, along with several other record labels, filed a lawsuit against Tenenbaum for copyright infringement. The labels accused Tenenbaum of downloading and distributing over 800 songs on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, such as Kazaa and Limewire. The labels argued that this constituted copyright infringement and sought damages of $150,000 per song, or a total of $1.2 million.

Tenenbaum initially denied the charges and argued that he was not aware that he was breaking the law by sharing music files. He also claimed that he had deleted the files when he learned about the copyright infringement. However, he later admitted to downloading and sharing the files, which led to a jury trial in 2009.

The trial was highly publicized and drew attention from both the music industry and digital rights advocates. During the trial, Sony BMG presented evidence that showed Tenenbaum had downloaded and shared copyrighted music files for several years, and that he had ignored cease-and-desist letters from the record labels.

Tenenbaum, on the other hand, argued that the damages sought by the record labels were excessive and that they violated the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits excessive fines. He also claimed that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was unconstitutional because it did not provide adequate protection for fair use.

The jury ultimately found Tenenbaum guilty of copyright infringement and awarded damages of $22,500 per song, or a total of $675,000. This was significantly less than the damages sought by the record labels but still considered a significant amount for a single individual.

Tenenbaum appealed the decision, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the jury's verdict in 2011. The court rejected Tenenbaum's arguments that the damages were excessive and that the DMCA was unconstitutional.