Law professor takes aim at RIAA lawsuits

Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson is tired of the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA)’s lawsuits, and will help to make a change while defending a Boston University graduate student who stands accused of copyright infringement.

The main argument Nesson will use is that the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 cannot be used by the RIAA to seek monetary damages because it’s designed for criminal law, and shouldn’t be used for civil enforcement.

The act in question calls for damages of $750 to $30,000 for each individual copyright infringement charge, and a fine up to $150,000 for willful copyright violations.

Nesson will help defend Joel Tenenbaum, who is accused of sharing 816 copyrighted music tracks through the Kazaa peer-to-peer file sharing network in 2004.  Tenebaum offered to settle the case for $500 out of court, but the RIAA refused and is instead demanding $12,000 in monetary compensation.

A federal judge requested Nesson’s office defend Tenenbaum, who was one of several dozen alleged file sharers who showed up to court without legal representation.

RIAA officials said pre-litigation notices are a legitimate and fair response to online piracy, which exploded after being introduced by Napster.

The RIAA has sent out more than 30,000 pre-litigation letters and John Doe lawsuits against alleged file sharers — sometimes accusing people who don’t own computers, or even, in the most extreme cases, people who are deceased.

"The RIAA is a body that has no political accountability, that can pursue any defendant it chooses at its own whim, that can accept or reject payoffs in exchange for not prosecuting the cases, and that pockets for itself all payoffs and fines … a significant percentage of these fines are never contested, regardless of whether they had merit, because the individuals being fined have limited financial resources and little idea whether they can prevail in front of an objective judicial body," Nesson said in a statement.

The majority of the 30,000 elect to settle out of court typically for $3,000 to $5,000, with fines up to $8,000.

Just one person who received a pre-litigation letter choose to take the RIAA to court, where the monetary fines and legal fees often increase dramatically.