Even before Tenenbaum's admission, some following the case had predicted that he had little chance of prevailing based on a pre-trail ruling by Judge Nancy Gertner. In that ruling, Gertner essentially in arguing his case.

That doctrine allows for the use of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holders in some specific circumstances including transformative use or for nonprofit academic purposes.

In her ruling on Monday, Gertner said that Tenenbaum had not provided any "hard proof" to show how his alleged illegal music distribution constituted fair use. She had noted that Tenenbaums interpretation of fair-use laws was so broad "it would swallow the copyright protections that Congress has created."

Ray Beckerman, a N.Y-based attorney who has represented several clients in RIAA lawsuits, called todays verdict "ridiculous," but "not surprising in view of the way the trial was incorrectly handled."

Beckerman who has been critical of the way the case has been handled from the beginning. None of the key issues relevant to the case were touched upon or explored during the case by the defendants team, the RIAA lawyers or Judge Gertner, he said.