Music Downloading

BOSTON - A federal judge on Friday drastically trimmed a $675,000 verdict against a Boston University graduate student who was found liable for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs online, saying the jury damage award against a person who gained no financial benefit from his copyright infringement is "unconstitutionally excessive." Joel Tenenbaum, from Providence, R.I., was sued by some of the largest music companies who said he violated copyright rules.

MINNEAPOLIS - A trade group representing the major music labels said Wednesday it will reject a reduced penalty for a central Minnesota woman found guilty of sharing 24 songs over the Internet, and will instead begin preparing for another trial to determine new damages.

LONDON - The founder of a Web site accused of being one of the world's biggest sources of illegally downloaded music was cleared of fraud by a British court on Friday.