Harvard Class Tries To Raise Curtain On RIAA Trial

The RIAA claims its taking new approach in it’s fight to stop illegal file sharing by working with ISP’s. But thus far it is continuing to persue the dozens of lawsuits that it filed prior to the announced strategy shift.

One such case involves the parents of a Boston University graduate student who are being dragged into the litigation which accuses their son of sharing 7 songs on Kazaa seeking up to $1 million in damages.   Harvard Law School Professor Charles Nesson and his students are helping to defend Arthur and Judie Tenenbaum and late last week filed a motion to admit the Internet into the courtroom, which is traditionally prohibited.

Nesson and his students are hoping to allow audio-visual coverage of the motion and trial proceedings. “The judicial process is essentially an exercise in civil discourse,” said Nesson. “Given the keen interest of

the diverse parties following this litigation closely, and the
potential learning value of this case to a broad audience beyond, this
case presents an ideal instance in which judicial discretion should be
exercised under the auspices of the rule to admit Internet to the
courtroom.” 

“What this underscores is that this case is about more than just music,” said Debbie Rosenbaum, one of Nesson’s students. “It’s about embracing digital natives in environments that have traditionally been closed off to them and challenging antiquated systems have yet to catch up to the twenty-first century.”