A jury delivered a $1 billion verdict against Atlanta-based Cox Communications Thursday in a long-running music piracy lawsuit.
A consortium of music publishers claimed that Cox, one of the nation’s largest internet service providers, failed to adequately prevent its customers from illegally downloading and sharing music.
The jury found Cox liable for allowing the pirating of more than 10,000 musical works, mainly in the middle part of the decade. The music industry, in an effort to combat pirating, sent thousands of notices to internet service providers such as Cox about suspected music piracy by its customers.
Cox argued in court that it met its obligation in handling and distributing the notices, designating five employees to process them.
“The verdict is unwarranted, unjust and an egregious amount,” said Cox spokesman Mallard Holliday in a statement. “Today, you can download a song for a dollar. This verdict is for nearly $100,000 per song. We plan to appeal the case and vigorously defend ourselves.”
The lawsuit, filed in July 2018, concerns copyright infringement claims mainly from 2012-2014. Back then, music publishers were betting big on purchased, downloaded files as the preferred format for the digital distribution of music. Illegal file-sharing is a threat to the music industry’s business model.
Now, streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify have proven a more popular form of digital distribution. Still, the recording industry welcomed the verdict, which it says sends a powerful message to would-be music pirates, however many that remain, and internet service providers.
“The jury recognized these companies’ legal obligation to take meaningful steps to protect music online and made a strong statement about the value of a healthy music ecosystem for everyone – ranging from creators to fans to the available outlets for legitimate music consumption,” said Kenneth Dorshow, chief legal officer of the Recording Industry Association of America, an industry trade group.
Cox argued in court that its primary objective is protecting the privacy and user experience of its internet customers. The company says it doesn’t track its customers and would not under any circumstance.
“We provide customers with a powerful tool that connects to a world full of content and information. Unfortunately, some customers have chosen to use that connection for wrongful activity. We don’t condone it, we educate on it and we do our best to help curb it, but we shouldn’t be held responsible for the bad actions of others,” the company said in a statement.
Cox Communications is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, which is also the parent company of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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