Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum: Are File-Sharing Willful Infringers in Copyright Litigation Now a Judicially Protected Class?

I know the title sounds a bit  provocative.  But the opinion in Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum protects a willful music downloader in copyright infringement litigation based on a bizarre interpretation of the Digital Theft Deterrence Act of 1999. Here is my article published in a recent BNA Patent Trademark & Copyright Journal (respectfully) critical of the court’s opinion.