Charles Neeson

Lawyers Plot Class Action Against RIAA Over P2P Lawsuits

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 10, 2009 - 12:27pm.

Los Angeles - Two attorneys who have represented a number of alleged file-swappers in copyright infringement lawsuits brought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) plan to file a class action suit against the RIAA this summer, to reclaim the "$100 million" the RIAA "stole" from the thousands of people they have sued, Ars Technica reports. Harvard Law professor Charles Neeson is currently defending a Boston student in a file-sharing case, while former Neeson student Kiwi Camara will represent Jammie Thomas-Rasset in her retrial on charges of copyright infringement on a file-sharing network.

Judge Denies Stay of P2P Trial for Supreme Court Opinion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 3, 2009 - 12:29pm.

Boston - U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner has denied a petition from the attorneys of accused file-swapper Joel Tenenbaum to stay the proceedings against him while their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to have the trial webcast live is reviewed, according to a post on the Recording Industry vs. the People blog. The defense team must now seek a stay directly from the U.S. Supreme Court if it still wishes to delay the proceedings. A federal appeals court recently ruled that local law prohibits webcasts of such proceedings.

Sony v. Tenebaum File-Sharing Case Gets July 20 Trial Date

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 29, 2009 - 11:43am.

Boston - A trial date of July 20 has been set for the case of Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, in which Boston student Joel Tenenbaum is accused of copyright infringement on a file-sharing network, according to the Recording Industry vs. the People blog. Tenenbaum's legal team, led by Harvard Law professor Charles Neeson, was denied a petition to webcast the proceedings. Neeson is countersuing alleging that copyright damages are unconstitutionally high, and that such lawsuits should be heard in criminal, not civil court.

Appeals Court Prohibits RIAA Trial Webcast

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 16, 2009 - 10:35am.

Boston - The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a trial judge's ruling that would have allowed the trial of a man accused of copyright infringement on file-sharing networks by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to be webcast live on the Internet. Harvard Law professor Charles Neeson, representing accused file-swapper and Boston student Joel Tenenbaum, made the request that the trial be made available online, due to the public interest in such file-sharing litigation.

Obama Justice Dept. Sides With RIAA in File-sharing Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 23, 2009 - 9:28am.

Washington - The Obama administration's Justice Department has weighed in on the side of the major record labels in a federal lawsuit where an accused music file-swapper has argued that current law providing for $150,000 in damages per copyright violation is "punitive," CNET News.com reported. Harvard law professor Charles Neeson and his students are arguing in the case of Joel Tenenbaum -- a student accused of sharing music on file-sharing networks -- that current copyright law provides for damages so excessive that they violate due process rights, and are therefore unconstitutional.