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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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6

File Sharing Lawyer's Stunts Shock Peers

'Insane' Nesson posts absolutely everything in copyright case online

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(Newser) – Charles Nesson has thrown out the standard playbook in his defense of a Boston University student being sued by the RIAA for file sharing. The storied Harvard Law professor is posting everything related to the case online, including a secretly taped conversation with the judge and opposing counsel, and even emails from fellow academics who disagree with his case. “It’s off the charts, in terms of unconventionality,” said one copyright lawyer, “and I’m being kind.”

Another lawyer who opposes the RIAA isn’t as kind, calling Nesson “insane.” But Nesson says he’s just trying to reflect the transparency that he thinks is central to his client’s case. “Joel committed no crime … he has no need for secrecy.” An RIAA spokesman counters that the case is “about a Harvard professor’s crusade to gut the copyright laws…and transform a courtroom into a circus.”

Boston University student, Joel Tannenbaum, left, and Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, pose in Nesson's office in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008.
Boston University student, Joel Tannenbaum, left, and Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, pose in Nesson's office in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, poses in his office in Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 12, 2008, in front of a screen displaying songs at issue in a copyright case over peer-to-peer file sharing.
Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson, poses in his office in Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 12, 2008, in front of a screen displaying songs at issue in a copyright case over peer-to-peer file sharing.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Charles Nesson plays poker at Harvard in this file photo.
Charles Nesson plays poker at Harvard in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
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He is literally a person who believes in openness. He feels his life is an artwork.
- Fern Nesson, Charles' wife

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6 comments
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ethical_person
Apr 8, 09 3:21 PM CDT
That's an academic for you -- absolutely no idea how the real world works -- all theory and life in Ivyland. Grow up, prof -- copyrights are in place for a reason, you idiot. The world doesn't have a right to someone else's hard work -- unless they have permission to have it. That's why there are LAWS protecting companies from people like you and your client. Why don't you move to Sweden? Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
fujbubccc
Apr 8, 09 5:22 PM CDT
Copyright law extends for way too long. Is there any good reason that you should be able to come up with one good idea during your life, copyright it, and then ride it until you die, and then let your estate ride it for another few decades? That just seems lazy to me. Society hasn't even seen the effects of the current copyright laws because nothing has gone into the public domain since they were enacted. Can you imagine what will happen when the Beatles' discography goes into the public domain? Can you imagine how much creativity that will inspire in the artistic community? The severity of the copyright law in the United States only works to stifle creativity and thought.
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IN RESPONSE:
radnip
Apr 9, 09 7:25 PM CDT
The reasoning for copyright law has been thrown aside and right now, it's pretty much in perpetuity. Just see whether history does not repeat itself: That when something approaches the public domain, the law changes to take the time period into the future once again. What was the reasoning for this artificial right, again?
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ethical_person
Apr 9, 09 12:08 AM CDT
Why shouldn't a person's ideas mean security for his progeny? Isn't that the impetus for success among human beings -- making sure their children and their children's children are secure? Come up with your OWN ideas and actually BE creative. Living off of someone else's hard work and CREATIIVITY is just lazy and wrongheaded. Thank God for those laws that protect a man's labor from predators. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
radnip
Apr 9, 09 7:31 PM CDT
Read up on the reasoning for creating a copy "right" and then come back and say it's right.
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