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Tenenbaum's Final Brief — $675K Award Too High
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The final brief (PDF) filed by the defendant Joel Tenenbaum in SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum seems to put the final nail in the coffin on the RIAA's argument that 'statutory damages' up to $150,000 can be awarded where the record company's lost profit is in the neighborhood of 35 cents. Not only do Tenenbaum's lawyers accurately describe the applicable caselaw and scholarship, something neither the RIAA nor the Department of Justice did in their briefs, but they point out to the Court that the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit — the appeals court controlling this matter — has itself ruled that statutory damages awards are reviewable for due process considerations under the guidelines of State Farm v. Campbell and BMW v. Gore. The brief is consistent with the amicus curiae brief filed in the case last year by the Free Software Foundation."
No, he's right.
Pirates don't steal things because they're making some kind of political statement.
They steal stuff because they don't want to pay for it and it's easy with little chance of getting caught.
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
What's the alternative? "Courts reaffirm the validity of industry pillaging of your rights"? That's a more likely prediction, but Ray Beckerman makes predictions on what he believes to be the proper reading of laws (and past rulings). He talks about how it should be, and how he hopes things will turn out. Judges don't always agree with him. Sometimes they aren't as familiar with the facts as he is, other times they may just interpret something differently (or rule that something doesn't apply). NYCL is still a great contributor to Slashdot. Do we have other lawyers who monitor Nerd-Worthy cases the way Mr. Beckerman does? Do they bother to submit to Slashdot? (I don't know.)
The poster to whom you're responding is a pure troll. His comment was completely dishonest.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
that is dishonesty
Do not attribute to malice what might be more easily attributed to being mistaken.
but whatever gave you the idea that I am kind and patient to liars, bullies, and thieves?
Nothing at all. However, to assume that someone who has a different reading of the situation is a "liar" is not exactly the paragon of intellectual honesty either. Please stop being a self-righteous dick if you want us to take you seriously.
Thank you.
The
You're either a moron or an RIAA lawyer.
Re:How legal briefs work (Score:-1, Troll)
by NewYorkCountryLawyer (912032)
Calling people morons or shills apparently gets you rated a troll on Slashdot, Ray. I'm sure, as an experienced litigator, you think it works well in court. I'm sure juries just loooooove you calling people names.
I encourage you to rethink at least the spirit of Thaetius's contributions to the dialogue.
He's a sophisticated shill. I'm sorry you fell for his act.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
WTF, who modded this as troll? He stated a plain fact quoted straight from the Constitution, which is directly on topic with the conversation, and was not done in a rude or insulting manner whatsoever.