SCOTUS sides with Cox in landmark music piracy case
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously in favor of Cox Communications, setting a historic precedent that internet service providers are not liable for copyright infringement if they fail to disconnect customers who have been accused of pirating music.
Why it matters: The decision has major implications for the $17.7 billion U.S. recorded music industry, absolving ISPs of responsibility for pirated music.
Zoom in: The justices ruled that Cox is not contributorily liable for the infringement of Sony's copyrights because "it did not intend for that service to be used to commit copyright infringement."
- "Holding Cox liable merely for failing to terminate Internet service to infringing accounts would expand secondary copyright liability beyond our precedents," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court's opinion.
- Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred in judgment but said the majority "needlessly curtails secondary liability in a manner inconsistent with both precedent and statute."
- Still, Sotomayor wrote that the "facts of this case do not establish the requisite intent needed to hold Cox liable for infringement that occurred on its network."
- The high court's ruling reverses a Fourth Circuit decision from 2024.
- Sony and Cox Communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Catch up quick: Sony, alongside other major music labels, sued Cox in 2018 over the pirating of its music by Cox customers that it said occurred between 2013 and 2014, alleging damages worth over $1 billion.
- A district court ruled against Cox the year after. Cox appealed the ruling to a federal appellate court, which ruled in 2024 that Cox was liable for copyright infringement, but overturned the $1 billion damages ruling. It sent the case back to a district court for a new trial.
- Cox then appealed its case to the Supreme Court, which agreed to take up the case last year. Oral arguments began in December.
Zoom out: In its appeal to the highest court, Cox Communications — which is one of the largest broadband providers in the U.S. — said ruling against it would set a dangerous precedent, forcing ISPs to essentially become the arbiters of internet access in the U.S. based on speech.
Disclosure: Axios is owned by Cox Enterprises, which is also the parent company of Cox Communications.
