Boston - Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson has asked the judge hearing the copyright infringement trial of an alleged music file-swapper that he and his students are defending to allow the proceedings to be webcast live on the Internet, Ars Technica reports.

Boston graduate student Joel Tenebaum was sued by record labels represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in October.

Tenebaum enlisted the services of Nesson and his students, who filed an ambitious countersuit that challenges the constitutionality of the high damages awards being sought by the record labels for copyright infringement, and argues that such cases should be heard in criminal, rather than civil court.

A judge denied Nesson's request to record one hearing earlier this week, but is not expected to rule on the larger matter of whether the actual trial may be webcast for another couple of days.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/9notx (Ars Technica)

http://snipurl.com/9np59 (DMW previous coverage)

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