professor
Tenenbaum Offers $21 Counter Offer to the RIAA
Convicted file-sharer argues that actual damages caused by illegally downloading 30 songs on KaZaA was $21, that being 70 cents for each song record labels would have received if he purchased the music from Apple’s iTunes. Joel Tenenbaum was found guilty of copyright infringement for illegally downloading 30 songs on KaZaA this past August, and was fined a total of $675,000, or $22,500 p/song. His attorney, Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson, has already decided to appeal the verdict on the grounds that downloading music without a copyright holder’s permission qualifies for “fair use” exemption from copyright laws, and that if an individual file-sharer is not proven to have caused actual losses that they can’t be held liable for damages.
Continue reading »‘I got my ass kicked,’ Charles Nesson admits
Harvard law professor Chales Nesson admits “I got my ass kicked” in the Joel Tenenbaum vs the RIAA trial. Like Jammie Thomas-Rassett, Tenenbaum was ordered to pay for allegedly 30 downloading copyrighted songs . His bill?
Continue reading »‘Mars may attempt contact by radio …’
Is there life on Mars? We still don’t know, landings on the surface of the Red Planet notwithstanding. “On June 19, 1976, after a 10-month trip from the Earth to Mars, the first Viking spacecraft, a combined orbiter and lander, fired its engines for thirty-eight minutes and entered orbit around Mars,” says Space .
Continue reading »York U scandal: staying anonymous online:
“There has been considerable discussion in recent weeks regarding the prospect of court orders mandating ISPs or other intermediaries disclose identifying information about anonymous individuals ( Google model case , Ottawa city hall blog ),” Ottawa law professor Michael Geist posted recently, going on a court order obtained by York University requiring Bell and Rogers to disclose subscriber information appeared to have been overlooked. “Neither ISP opposed the order, which included some novel requirements in return for ordering the two companies to disclose the names of customers associated with particular IP addresses,” said Geist, observing: “First, York University was required to pay the ISPs to compensate them for providing the information – Rogers gets $600, while Bell gets $300. Second, the court added a condition that required notification of the customers identified by Bell and Rogers so that they could apply to the court to vary or vacate the order.
Continue reading »Author of Torture Memos Pranked in Classroom
A former Justice Department official who wrote controversial memos authorizing the Bush administration to conduct torture was the object of a prank by an Australian comedian during one of his recent law class lectures. John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general who has faced intense criticism for authoring constitutionally-questionable memos justifying torture and the government’s warrantless wiretapping program , was confronted last week during a lecture he was giving on international law at Chapman University School of Law, a private school in Southern California. After Yoo mentions the Constitution during his lecture, and asks the students if they have any questions, an Australian comedian from the show Chaser’s War on Everything is seen wearing a black-hooded robe and standing on top of his desk with his arms outstretched, recalling one of the most iconic images of U.S.
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