Cox Communications vs. Major Labels Heads to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case brought by ISP Cox over whether it should be held liable for the music piracy committed by its users.

Cox Communications’ request for the Supreme Court to hear its case over whether it should be held liable for music piracy committed by its users has been granted, much to the chagrin of major record labels. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, which could have a major impact on the way online piracy is policed.

Last year, a federal appellate court found Cox liable for “willful contributory infringement,” yet overturned a verdict for “vicarious liability” that would have awarded record labels around $1 billion in damages. That case stemmed from major labels, including Sony, Warner, and Universal, who sued Cox over infringement by its users from 2013 to 2014.

“We are pleased the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to address these significant copyright issues that could jeopardize internet access for all Americans and fundamentally change how internet service providers manage their networks,” said Todd Smith, a spokesperson for Cox.

Notably, the Supreme Court declined to hear the record labels’ appeal of their portion of the case. The labels had challenged the appellate court’s decision that the labels had to show that Cox directly profited from the copyright infringement, in order to determine vicarious liability.

Of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Cox’s case, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said in a statement: “Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA], Congress made ISPs immune from monetary liability if they act with a modicum of responsibility—namely, that they impose real consequences on users who repeatedly violate creators’ rights—an unprecedented approach by Congress intended to demonstrate its commitment to responsible technological innovation. Unfortunately, Cox breached its part of that bargain.

“We are confident that on full review of the record, the Court—like the trial and appellate courts did before it—will find that Cox’s willful failure to follow well-settled law contributed to massive infringement of the plaintiffs’ copyrights and will return the case to the trial court for final determination of damages.”