Fascinating article-- too bad the headline is so opaque.

I remember quite a few conversations a few days ago about the outrageousness of the dollar amount of the judgment; it's worth remembering that Tanenbaum had plenty of options to settle for a much more modest penalty, but insisted upon going to court, only to admit to downloading (which he had previously denied in depositions), on the slim hope of a "fair use" defense, which even people like Lessig had said was not really viable.

In other words: what were they thinking?