Supreme Court Seeks US Views in $1 Billion Music Copyright Case

The U.S. Supreme Court sought the federal government’s views in a billion-dollar copyright clash between the music industry and internet provider Cox Communications Inc.

Entertainment companies including units of Sony Group Corp., Warner Music Group Corp. and Universal Music Group NV are suing Cox, saying it failed to shut down the accounts of customers who repeatedly downloaded and distributed songs without permission. Both sides sought Supreme Court review after a federal appeals court struck down part of a $1 billion jury verdict against Cox and ordered a new trial on damages.

The one-sentence Supreme Court order Monday signals the justices are interested in taking up the case. The timing of the request means it likely will fall to John Sauer, whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to become solicitor general, the federal government’s top courtroom lawyer.

A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, found in 2019 that Cox willfully enabled subscribers to copy more than 10,000 works using peer-to-peer networks. The jury awarded almost $100,000 per instance of infringement.

A three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the jury’s finding of contributory infringement by Cox. But the panel said the jury couldn’t find Cox liable under a separate legal theory known as “vicarious liability” because the evidence didn’t show the company directly profited from the infringement.

The cases are Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, 24-171, and Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications, 24-181.