Supreme Court Backs Cox in Music Piracy Copyright Dispute

Court ruling

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that Cox Communications could not be held liable for the online piracy of thousands of songs in a closely watched copyright dispute.

The case centered on whether internet providers like Cox could be legally responsible, and forced to pay steep damages, if they knew some customers were pirating music but did not do enough to terminate their internet access. In Cox’s case, the potential damages were described as $1 billion or more.

In its opinion, the court said a company is not liable for “merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights.”

Dispute with music labels

Music labels and publishers sued Cox Communications in 2018, arguing that the company failed to cut off subscribers who had repeatedly been flagged for illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted music.

At issue for the justices was whether that knowledge, combined with Cox’s response to the complaints, was enough to make the company legally responsible for the infringement carried out by its users.

Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said a provider like Cox is liable “only if it intended that the provided service be used for infringement” and if it, for instance, “actively encourages infringement.”

Separate opinion

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote separately to say that she agreed with the outcome but for different reasons.

The ruling is a significant win for Cox in a case that tested how far copyright liability extends for internet providers whose subscribers are accused of distributing pirated music.