Thursday, February 18, 2010

Tenenbaum files reply brief rebutting RIAA arguments

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, defendant has filed a reply brief rebutting the RIAA's opposition papers, rebutting the RIAA's contention that an award of $675,000 -- or about 65,000 times the maximum actual damages sustained -- satisfies due process standards.

Defendant's reply brief in support of motion for new trial or remittitur

[Ed. note. This brief, unlike the RIAA and Justice Department briefs, actually does discuss the applicable authorities on the due process argument, and shows that the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit -- in which the Massachusetts District lies -- has itself applied Gore and Campbell to statutory damages awards. Also the brief actually does look at Gore and Campbell, as well as Williams, and discuss them intelligently. So it looks like the issue has finally been properly framed, and it is now unimaginable that District Judge Gertner will accept the RIAA argument and reject the First Circuit's holding. Motion granted. -R.B.]





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3 comments:

Unknown said...

This brief is absolutely amazing. You really must read it to find out how absolutely absurd the RIAA has become in their demands for compensation. I especially like the sub-comment on how if they were actually awarded the demanded amount, and they were awarded the same demanded amounts from 30 teenagers, they would far exceed their expected sales earnings for the next 50 years! Thank you Justice Department, thank you for throwing the sheep to the wolves, it saved them a lot of time and effort.

Unknown said...

I read the document and wow. They are very precise in 21.00 dollars where the 12 Billon in loses and how about the poor people who lost their job because of the 21.00 dollars?
(jobs that were moved to India)

Oh well he is guilty to rip Corporations and that is punishable by death (Is this not correct?)

Interested said...

Footnote 3 on p. 9 is money.

"For additional absurdity, imagine further that the Industry actually got
judgments of $18 million in damages from roughly 30,000 teenagers, which is
approximately the number of lawsuits they filed against consumers until the end of 2008.
That would mean they had outstanding judgments for $540 billion dollars – or more than
the total revenue the recording industry can expect to earn in about 50 years at its current
size of $11 billion per year. See Recording Industry Association of America, 2006
Consumer Profile, available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/311010/RIAA-Recording-
Industry-Association-of-America-27."