The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in a billion-dollar internet piracy case that could decide if internet service providers (ISPs) are liable for the digital theft perpetrated by their customers who simply refuse to pay for that new Sabrina Carpenter track.
Sony and a group of other music labels claim that Cox Communications should be held responsible for its customers repeatedly violating copyright laws. Cox, which provides internet service to 6 million homes and businesses, says if it’s found culpable, it could lead to all ISPs cutting off internet access for millions of Americans.
How we got here: In 2019, a court ruled against Cox and awarded Sony $1 billion in damages for the 10,017 songs at issue. An appeals court threw out the monetary award and ordered a new trial based on reduced violations. Cox turned to SCOTUS, arguing against the initial ruling that it had participated in “willful contributory infringement,” and saying a new trial could result in an even bigger penalty.
The arguments
- The music labels assert that Cox was sent numerous notices of IP addresses violating copyright and refused to act. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, aka DMCA (shout-out to Napster), made it illegal to download and distribute copyrighted music online—but an email from a Cox manager in charge of overseeing the application of the law reads, “F the dmca!!!”
- Cox argued that courts have previously said that, for contributory infringement, companies must be aware of the infractions and further the illegalities, which Cox says it never did. Per Reuters, the justices seemed skeptical of that argument.
Big Tech’s big interest: Google and X are backing Cox, with X stating that if creators can sue AI platforms when people use their technology for violating copyright laws, the company would “have no choice but to constrain their actions” to avoid potential liability.
Don’t worry, SCOTUS isn’t expected to rule until the summer, so there’s still plenty of time to add malware illegal music to your laptop.—DL
This report was originally published by Morning Brew.
