Intellectual Property Case Tracker

ISPs, Infringement, and the DMCA: Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment

The United States Supreme Court unanimously held that an online service provider cannot be liable for copyright infringement simply because it knows infringement is occurring and does not immediately terminate a user’s access.

The Update: On March 25, 2026, the United States Supreme Court delivered a unanimous opinion, reversing the Fourth Circuit’s holding that Cox was contributorily liable for its subscribers’ infringement based largely on its receipt of more than 160,000 DMCA notices and its alleged failure to terminate repeat infringers. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the Court, reaffirmed a critical boundary in secondary copyright liability: knowledge alone is not intent. Under longstanding precedent, a service provider is contributorily liable only if it intended its service to be used for infringement. That intent can be shown in two ways: (1) by affirmatively inducing infringement, or (2) by offering a service tailored to infringement because it lacks substantial non-infringing uses. The Supreme Court found that Cox did neither. Cox simply provided general-purpose internet access, a service with overwhelmingly legitimate uses.

Cox argued that it cannot be held liable under the Copyright Act because it did not “materially contribute” to the alleged infringement. Sony and the other music publishing companies argued that Cox was put on notice of the vast infringement and failed to do anything about it, which constituted a material contribution and willfulness under the Copyright Act. Cox was hit with over a billion dollars in damages at the trial court level, and the Fourth Circuit remanded the case for a new trial after it affirmed only part of the jury’s verdict.

Key Dates:

• March 26, 2026: Supreme Court issues opinion
• June 30, 2025: Supreme Court agrees to hear case
• May 28, 2024: Cox Communications appeals Fourth Circuit Opinion to the Supreme Court
• February 20, 2024: Fourth Circuit reverses part of the trial court’s decision, finding that Cox was liable for contributory copyright infringement but not liable under a theory of vicarious liability.
• December 17, 2015: Jury awards music publishing companies $25,000,000 for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement because internet service provider’s users were rampantly infringing music rights.

Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, 607 U.S. ___ (2026).