After celebrating his graduation from Boston University Sunday, Joel Tenenbaum received news Monday that the Supreme Court refused to hear his case, but is looking ahead in his future academically as he continues to teach statistics at the School of Management in the fall.
Through its ruling, the Supreme Court left him with a $675,000 fine for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs.
Since the Supreme Court denied his petition without comment, Tenenbaum said the case will continue through the U.S. First Circuit District Court, but may not conclude soon.
“I’m continuing to live my life as if this weren’t a major distraction,” he said in a phone interview. “The legal system has a history of righting its wrongs, but so far the results have not been encouraging.”
Tenenbaum, who has been studying for his doctorate in statistical physics for the past six years, said he does not have the hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay the fine.
When he offered $5,250 to Recording Industry Association of America, which is what they initially asked for in a settlement, they denied it, asking for more than $10,000, he said.
“I didn’t reject attempts to compromise,” he said. “I’m just trying to do right here.”
Tenenbaum said the RIAA’s claims that he continued to illegally download songs, blaming it on sisters, houseguests or burglars, was “nonsense.”
“The whole process is one of enormous intimidation,” he said.
When the case went to court in 2009, Tenenbaum was ordered to pay $675,000 by the jury, he said.
Though a federal judge decreased the fine to $67,500 in 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit revisited the ruling in 2011 and reinstated the original fine, according to an article published by The Boston Globe on Tuesday.
“If a song costs 99 cents, I don’t see how it could be worth $22,000 if it is distributed,” Tenenbaum said.
The appeals court remanded the case to go back to the First Circuit District Court, he said.
Since the Supreme Court denied Tenenbaum’s petition, he said the case will go back to the First Circuit District Court.
“We are pleased with the decision,” said RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy in a phone interview.
Tenenbaum said he never thought this would be the result of downloading a few songs, which he said could also be recorded off the radio.
“If you double-park your car, you expect to get a ticket, but you don’t expect to get a $1 million fine,” he said.
Tenenbaum said he is not hopeful for a quick conclusion to this case.
“We can only hope they will reduce the amount to something reasonable, which $675,000 for 30 songs is not,” he said.
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