If little else, you need to have a pity party for poor Joel Tenenbaum, a Boston College student who handled to obtain his $675,000 file-discussing verdict reduced to $67,500... after which viewed being an appeals court knocked it look out onto its original amount again, reviews Ars Technica.
Tenenbaum was purchased to pay for $675,000 with a jury after being prosecuted through the Recording Industry Association of America for file-discussing, but Judge Nancy Gertner reduced that amount by 90% because the original amount am high it was "unconstitutionally excessive." Sadly, that opinion wasn't shared by either the RIAA, who become a huge hit your decision, nor the the very first Circuit Court of Appeals, who reinstated the judgment of $675,000.
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The issue, it appears, was the way Judge Gertner reduced the judgment. The verdict in the First Circuit criticizes her for visiting the constitutional argument rather than the greater common perception of "remittitur," which simply enables a judge to reduce damages while permitting the complaintant to request for any new trial when they differ using the reduced damages (Gertner stated at that time the music labels "mentioned in open court they likely wouldn't pay a remitted award").
However, even though First Circuit court reinstated the entire award against Tenenbaum, it did not always accept it, stating that they "comment this situation boosts concerns about use of the Copyright Act which Congress may decide to examine." That comfort does not always help Tenenbaum's unique circumstances, sadly.
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Graeme McMillan is really a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You may also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page as well as on Twitter at @TIME.
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