September 30, 2011
Could one music downloader change U.S. copyright law?
In the age of iTunes and an-app-for-everything, Joel Tenenbaum's battle with the music industry over illegal downloading seems as relevant as an eight-track cassette.
But it turns out the fight could produce something surprisingly enduring: a change in copyright law. Reuters reports.
Back in 2007, Tenenbaum was one of 35,000 individuals sued by Recording Industry Association of America in a legal assault meant to discourage music lovers from illegally downloading songs. While the vast majority of rogue downloaders settled their cases, only Tenenbaum and one other defendant hung on for a trial.
Over the course of the litigation, Tenenbaum's testimony earned him some notoriety -- he blamed the downloading on burglars, a foster child and his sisters before finally confessing -- but the digital-rights community continued to support his case. A friend-of-the-court brief supporting Tenenbaum's constitutional arguments was co-authored by members of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a lobbying group, as well as Stanford and Berkeley law school's clinics on technology and public policy. Harvard law professor Charles Nesson, founder of the school's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, took Tenenbaum on as a client and has been representing him pro bono since 2008.
Now, as Tenenbaum's case enters its next stage, those advocates see a renewed opportunity to push for an answer on how copyright laws should be enforced.
Read full article.
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