Boston - A man sued for copyright infringement for allegedly sharing seven songs on the Kazaa file-sharing network is now mounting a countersuit, with the help of a Harvard Law School professor and his cyberlaw students, who are arguing that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is abusing the legal process.

Joel Tenenbaum faces over $1 million in damages if found guilty -- an amount that Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson argues is unconstitutionally high.

Nesson and his students also argue that the copyright infringement lawsuits filed by the RIAA should be heard in criminal, rather than civil court, and be held to the standards of criminal and not civil law.

"At its core this counterclaim raises a profoundly conceptual question: Is the law just the grind of a statutory machine to be carried out by judge and jury as cogs, or do judge and jury claim the right and duty and power of constitution and conscience to do justice?" said Nesson.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/4tlhd (Ars Technica)

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/17415

http://snipurl.com/4tlfp (Recording Industry vs. The People)

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/cyberone/riaa