Defendant makes motion for proceedings to be televised over the internet in SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the defendant has moved for all court proceedings to be televised over the internet through Courtroom View Network. The motion argues:

Information is the currency of democracy, sunshine laws open government. The federal court is open not only as a court of justice but a forum of civic education. WE the PEOPLE are the ultimate check in our constitutional system of checks and balances, we the people of the integrated media space opened and connected by the net in a public domain. Net access will allow an intelligent public domain to shape itself by attending and engaging in a public trial of issues conflicting our society.

Net access to this litigation will allow an interested and growingly sophisticated public to understand the RIAA’s education campaign. Surely education is the purpose of the Digital Deterrence Act of 1999, the constitutionality of which we are challenging. How can RIAA object? Yet they do, fear of sunlight shone upon them.

Net access will allow demonstration by the parties to the jury of the nature and context of the copyright infringement with which Joel Tenenbaum is charged.

Net access will allow an intelligent public domain to shape itself by attending and engaging a public trial prosecuted by a dying CD industry against a defendant who did what comes naturally to digital kids.

Net access will allow educational and public media institutions to build a digital archive and resource for understanding law akin to Jonathan Harr’s A Civil Action reconceived in execution for legal pedagogy in a digital age, Another Civil Action. The immediacy of net-based access to court opinions already allows lawyers, professors, students, and reporters to better keep abreast of the most recent legal developments, but none with the immediacy the Net allows.

If the motion is granted, it will be the first RIAA case of which we are aware to be televised.

Motion and memorandum of law in support of internet audio-visual coverage
Declaration of John Shin
Declaration of Charles Nesson

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net
Slashdot
reddit
enigma_foundry
TechDirt




Keywords: lawyer digital copyright law online internet law legal download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie independent label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs intellectual property portable music player