Cox Communications Not Liable For Pirated Music, Supreme Court Rules

The Supreme Court has issued its ruling successful a lengthy copyright conflict betwixt Cox Communications and awesome grounds labels, determining that nan cablegram and net work supplier isn’t responsible for illegally downloaded music, as reported earlier by nan Associated Press. The unanimous determination says Cox “neither induced its users’ infringement nor provided a work tailored to infringement.”

Several grounds labels, led by Sony Music, sued Cox successful 2018, alleging nan institution allowed 60,000 net subscribers to download complete 10,000 copyrighted songs illegally. A jury recovered Cox liable for piracy successful 2019 and granted Sony $1 cardinal successful damages, though an appeals tribunal later tossed retired nan hefty award. Cox asked nan Supreme Court to return up its lawsuit successful August 2024.

Other ISPs, specified arsenic AT&T and Verizon, backed Cox during nan fight, saying nan appeals court’s determination “threatens to saddle net work providers pinch work for virtually each bad act.” The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) besides said punishing an ISP for illustration Cox will wounded free speech.

“A institution is not liable arsenic a copyright infringer for simply providing a work to nan wide nationalist pinch knowledge that it will beryllium utilized by immoderate to infringe copyrights,” Justice Clarence Thomas writes successful his opinion. “Cox simply provided Internet access, which is utilized for galore purposes different than copyright infringement.”

Mitch Glazier, nan president and CEO of nan Recording Industry Association of America, says that nan waste and acquisition organization is “disappointed successful nan Court’s decision,” adding that “copyright rule must protect creators and markets from harmful infringement and policymakers should look intimately astatine nan effect of this ruling.”