Monday, July 20, 2009

The Joel Tenenbaum case in a nutshell

Howard Knopf of Excess Copyright pretty much nails it:
  • If Joel somehow wins, the RIAA has a big problem.
  • If there is a judgment of tens of thousands of dollars against Joel, then Joel has a big problem.
  • If there is a judgment of hundreds of thousands against Joel, then both he and the RIAA have a big problem.
  • If there is a judgment of millions against Joel, it's mostly the RIAA's problem.
My only quibble is with #4. In the (unlikely) event of a judgment of millions, yes, it's true that the labels have PR, political, and legal problems. But Tenenbaum could still be walking around with that judgment hanging over his head for years (and what if he can't come up with an appeal bond?), which would be no fun at all.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJuly 21, 2009 at 10:05 AM

    Anyone know anything about bankruptcy law? Can't Tenenbaum just file to avoid the judgment and then sign the book deal which is in all likelihood not too far away.

    ReplyDelete

Comments here are moderated. I appreciate substantive comments, whether or not they agree with what I've written. Stay on topic, and be civil. Comments that contain name-calling, personal attacks, or the like will be rejected. If you want to rant about how evil the RIAA and MPAA are, and how entertainment companies' employees and attorneys are bad people, there are plenty of other places for you to go.