Is The RIAA Only Suing “Stupid” Colleges?
So you know how we’ve been following the RIAA’s idiotic campaign of trying to stop file-sharing through suing students, 12 year-olds, dead people and cancer patients? Well a couple of years ago they initiated a massive effort to sue college students nationwide, but have somehow left out several Ivy-league institutions including Harvard.
Does the Recording Industry Association of America think smart kids don’t file-share? Highly unlikely, but they do know that Harvard is not to be “triffled” with legally speaking.
It seems that Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, a critic of RIAA-led lawsuits and “shock and awe” tactics, has put the fear into the trade group. Neeson, with a bevy of Harvard law students, has recently come to the aid of Boston College graduate Joel Tenenbaum who is battling the trade group in Sony BMG Music v. Tenenbaum.
Nesson and his team are defending the Tenenbaums against alleged abuse of the federal court system. “The plaintiffs and the RIAA are seeking to punish Tenenbaum beyond any rational measure of the damage he allegedly caused,” the Nesson’s defense asserted.
At a hearing in Rhode Island, Nesson and associates protested a motion to enter a Tenenbaum computer into evidence. The Tenenbaums claim that the computer was acquired after the alleged offense. “The basic rules of evidence suggest that this invasion of privacy is both unnecessary and absurd,” said Matt Sanchez, a Nesson student working on the case. “This hearing isn’t only about Joel’s parents. It’s also about finally putting up a fight against the recording industry’s intimidation practices.” Joel faces damages surpassing $1 million for sharing seven songs on Kazaa.
