LOS ANGELES, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously sided with Cox Communications in a copyright dispute brought by major record labels, overturning a 1 billion U.S. dollar jury verdict that had held the internet service provider (ISP) liable for music piracy carried out by its subscribers.
In its ruling, the court said that merely providing internet service, even with general awareness that some users may infringe copyrights, is insufficient to make the ISP a copyright infringer.
The case stemmed from years of notices sent by record labels and their anti-piracy vendors to Cox, alleging that specific subscribers were illegally sharing copyrighted songs through peer-to-peer networks.
Sony and other labels argued that Cox contributed to infringement by allowing repeat offenders to remain online, even after receiving large volumes of notices.
A Virginia jury in 2019 found Cox liable and awarded 1 billion dollars in statutory damages to major record labels.
Industry experts said that the ruling could shift anti-piracy efforts toward tactics such as targeting large-scale uploaders, pursuing overseas piracy services, and seeking court orders to block access to repeat-offender websites. ■