BU student on trial admits sharing music online

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 31 July 2009, 14:41 IST   |    3 Comments
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BU student on trial admits sharing music online
Bangalore: The Boston University graduate student, Joel Tenenbaum, charged with illegally downloading songs online admitted to the crime on Thursday. He was under questioning from a recording industry attorney when he admitted to downloading and sharing hundreds of songs on the file sharing network Kazaa. The recording industry has been on a drive on cracking down on people who illegally download music, reports Information Week. Around 35,000 people have been charged with copyright infringement over the past five years but only two cases have made it to the trial. In the first case, the defendant was forced to pay $1.92 million in damages. This is the second Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) music lawsuit to go to trial. Joel Tenenbaum's lawyer argued that he is just a kid doing what kids do on the Internet. If the jury rules against Tenenbaum, he could face penalties of up to $4.5 million. The testimony in the case is expected to conclude before the week is over. Although Tenenbaum is specifically accused of downloading 30 songs, he admitted to downloading hundreds of songs. Among the songs he downloaded and shared are songs by Nirvana, Green Day, and the Smashing Pumpkins. The recording companies that leveled charges against Tenenbaum are subsidiaries of Sony Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The recording industry initially brought legal action against thousands of individuals it charged with illegally downloading music. However, the industry has been recently working with internet service providers to stop the illegal sharing of music.

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