Supreme Court Overturns $1 Billion Judgment in Music Piracy Case, Setting Back Major Labels

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Wednesday that internet provider Cox Communications cannot be held liable for music piracy from its users. The Supreme Court had agreed to consider the case last year, taking on a years-long legal battle between the major record labels and the internet provider, with the labels saying internet gatekeepers should be held responsible for their users’ infringing behaviors. A Virginia court first ruled in the labels’ favor in 2019, though an appeals court overturned t he $1 billion in damages that were previously determined. Now SCOTUS is shooting the decision down outright. Related Stories Music Vinyl Sales Hit $1 Billion In U.S. Revenue Last Year Music Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey" Is First Country Song to Go Double Diamond “Under our precedents, a company is not liable as a copyright infringer for merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights,” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court’s decision published Wednesday. “Accordingly, we reverse.” Affirming the decision, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that “without proof that Cox knew more about individual instances of infringement,” the record labels “have at most shown that Cox was “indifferent” to infringement conducted via the connections it sells. Mere indifference, however, is not enough for aiding and abetting liability to attach.” RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement that the trade organization was “disappointed” in the Supreme Court’s decision, adding that there was “overwhelming evidence that the company knowingly facilitated theft.” “To be effective, copyright law must protect creators and markets from harmful infringement and policymakers should loo...