The Obama administration is backing the verdict awarding $675,000 in damages to the RIAA in the case of Sony v. Tenenbaum, the second-ever US case where an individual was tried for copyright infringement.
The Justice Department, in a memorandum in response to the defendant’s motion for a new trial, said copyright infringement “creates a public harm that Congress determined must be deterred.”
“The current damages range provides compensation for copyright owners because, inter alia, there exist situations in which actual damages are hard to quantify,” the Justice Department wrote. “Furthermore, in establishing the range, Congress took into account the need to deter the millions of users of new media from infringing copyrights in an environment where many violators believe they will go unnoticed.”
Among other requests, Joel Tenenbaum’s legal team wants the damages reduced to $750 per song.
The Obama administration and the Bush administration have supported file sharing damages of up to $150,000 per track. The Justice Department often weighs in on cases when the constitutionality of laws are at issue.
If you’re having trouble keeping track, this is the trial with the amazingly nutty defense lawyer.
[Wired]
