US Court Rejects File-Sharer’s Fair Use Defence

In Capital Records v. Tennenbaum, the US District Court for Massachusetts rejected the defendant file-sharer's defence that his sharing of musical files over a peer-to-peer (P2P) network was a "fair use" that should insulate him from liability under the US Copyright Act. The Act allows limited "fair use" of copyrighted material without the rights holder's permission.

The defendant had contended that his uploading of more than 800 songs onto a P2P network was fair in light of the statutory criteria requiring courts to consider (a) the purpose and character of the use; (b) the nature of the copyrighted work; (c) the amount and substantiality of the portion taken; and (d) the effect of the use upon the potential market.