Claudia Grégoire Civil Practice Law Blog on Lawyers.com

A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ordered a Boston University graduate student to pay $675,000 to four record agencies, for illegally downloading and sharing music online.  While the defendant's lawyer urged the jury to award only minimal damages as he was just "a kid who did what kids do," the recording industry urged jurors to send a strong message that such illegal downloading takes a heavy toll on the revenues of the recording industry.  This case was only the second case of this type to go to trial.  The defendant's attorney was Harvard Law School Professor Charles R. Nesson.

Federak kaw orivudes $750 to $30,000 per infringement, with juries allowed to raise the amount to $150,000 per track if infringements are found to be willful.  The defendant had admitted to downloading more than 800 songs since 1999.

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