Mr Tenenbaum's case sets an important precedent A US student could face $4.5m (£2.8m) in fines following a federal court ruling that he violated copyright law for sharing music files online.The jury must now decide on the amount of damages it will award to the four recording labels that are suing him. Joel Tenenbaum admitted on the witness stand on Thursday that he had used file-sharing sites both to download and upload hundreds of songs. It is only the second music-downloading suit to go to trial in the US. Last month saw the end of the first such suit, in which single mother Jammie Thomas-Rassett of Minnesota was ordered to pay $1.92m for sharing 24 songs. Mr Tenenbaum used a computer at his parents' home and at his college to download and distribute digital files. Prosecutors working on behalf of the record labels have focused on 30 shared songs. Under US law, the recording companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 (£450-18,000) per infringement. However, the jury can raise the amount to $150,000 (£91,000) per track if it finds the infringements were wilful - a matter that they will debate now that the judge has ruled Mr Tenenbaum violated copyright laws.[Read more...]