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Court OKs $675k Fine For Ex-BU Student's File-Sharing

A federal appeals court has upheld a jury $675,000 award against a former Boston University student for illegally downloading and sharing songs on the Internet.

The jury ordered Joel Tenenbaum of Providence, R.I., to pay $22,500 for each of 30 songs, after the Recording Industry Association of America sued him on behalf of four record labels.

Tenenbaum argued that the $675,000 award violates his due process rights because it is not tied to the actual injury he caused. He estimated that to be no more than $450, or the cost of 30 albums.

On Tuesday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Tenenbaum's conduct was "egregious" because he illegally shared songs for years, despite numerous warnings.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear Tenenbaum's appeal.

Tenenbaum said he could not immediately comment on the ruling.

This program aired on June 25, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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