Supreme Court rules Cox Communications not liable for subscriber piracy

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that internet service provider Cox Communications cannot be held liable for copyright infringement committed by its subscribers, ending a closely watched dispute with major music labels.

The 9-0 decision reversed a lower court ruling and overturned a jury verdict that had awarded $1 billion in damages to the music companies. Cox had faced potential liability of as much as $1.5 billion if a retrial had proceeded as ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

The case was brought in 2018 by Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and more than 50 other record labels and publishers. The music companies argued that Cox was legally responsible for willfully infringing more than 10,000 of their copyrighted works because the company continued to provide internet services to subscribers who were known to be downloading and distributing songs without permission.

At the center of the dispute was whether internet service providers could be held legally responsible and required to pay substantial damages if they knew customers were pirating music but did not take sufficient steps to terminate their internet access. The music labels contended that Cox had failed to cut off the internet connections of subscribers who had been repeatedly flagged for illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted material.

A jury initially sided with the music companies and awarded $1 billion in damages. On appeal, the 4th Circuit upheld part of the verdict and found that Cox bore responsibility for the infringement that occurred on its network.

In its opinion released Wednesday, the Supreme Court found that a company was not liable for merely providing a service to the general public, even when some users engaged in infringing activity. The unanimous ruling clarified the legal standard for internet service provider liability under U.S. copyright law.