Charles Nesson is the William F. Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and co-Founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Together with a group of his students, he is defending Joel Tenenbaum, accused in federal court of sharing seven songs some years ago through KaZaA. Due to the intense public interest surrounding the case, we have offered Professor Nesson the chance to lay out what's at stake in his own words. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Ars Technica.
This is one of the best things written about the lawsuits and make sure you put some time aside to read it.