In a July 9 order in Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, Gertner slashed the jury’s award from $22,500 for each of 30 songs Tenenbaum was found to have willfully infringed, or $675,000, to $2,250 per song.
In a 62-page order, Gertner called the jury’s award “wholly out of proportion with the government’s legitimate interests in compensating the plaintiffs and deterring unlawful file-sharing.” Gertner also concluded that the award could not withstand scrutiny under the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause.
