US judge slashes download penalty against Boston student

A US judge drastically cut a €533,000 award against a Boston University graduate who was found liable for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs online.

Judge Nancy Gertner on Friday cut the damages award to €53,000 – three times the statutory minimum – saying the original award against a person who gained no financial benefit from his copyright infringement was “unconstitutionally excessive”.

Joel Tenenbaum, from Providence, Rhode Island, was sued by some of the largest music companies who said he violated copyright rules. He admitted in court to downloading songs between 1999 and 2007.