Court allows RIAA hearing to be Webcast

In the RIAA's copyright infringement suit against Joel Tenebaum, the defendant's legal council moved to have the January 22 hearing broadcast online via the Courtroom View Network (CVN). Believing the hearing falls squarely within the public interest, especially given the captivation the "Internet Generation" has for these sort of suits, Massachusetts District Court Judge Nancy Gertner approved the motion.

Further, Gertner found the RIAA's objection to the Webcast curious. "At previous hearings and status conferences, the Plaintiffs have represented that they initiated these lawsuits not because they believe they will identify every person illegally downloading copyrighted material. Rather, they believe that the lawsuits will deter the Defendants and the wider public from engaging in illegal file-sharing activities. Their strategy effectively relies on the publicity resulting from this litigation (though it is possible they have changed their minds about the virtue of this strategy.)"

Tenenbaum, a grad student at Boston University, has the counsel of Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson and his students. The group is fully exploiting the internet in its case, setting up a Facebook group, a dedicated blog, and a twitter feed, in addition to its home page, where information about the case and legal counsel can be obtained for free.

The RIAA seeks $1 million for the seven songs Tenenbaum downloaded in 2004. The trial will be visible on Courtroomlive.com on Thursday, January 22.