Tenenbaum, a 25-year old doctoral student, on Thursday admitted to illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted music in front of a federal jury in U.S. District Court in Boston. The admission has left the jury in the case with nothing left to do but to impose on Tenenbaum. If the maximum penalty is assessed, he could be fined $4.5 million.

The Tenenbaum case is only the second ever Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) music piracy lawsuit to go to trial. Harvard Law school professor is representing Tenenbaum in the case. The trial began on Monday.

Though the outcome is not entirely unexpected, it is still evoking angst among those who had hoped Tenenbaum might prevail. In a post, , Debbie Rosenbaum, a student at Harvard Law School and part of Tenenbaum's defense team acknowledged the "disappointment among the public" over the outcome. "Although we could not win this case, we are proud to have highlighted the abuses and the inefficiency with which the music industry burdens the court system," Rosenbaum wrote.

The RIAA lawsuit, she said, was about more than just money. "It was also about the fact that Joel fought back on behalf of a generation that hasn't been able to defend itself against the well-paid lawyers who have been hired to scare file-sharers...in order to 'teach them a lesson.'"

Rosenbaum's note drew out supporters as well as those opposition to her views.