Cox found liable in piracy dispute with music publisher
17/12/2015 19:11
By Andrew Chung
NEW YORK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Thursday ordered
Internet service provider Cox Communications COXC.UL to pay
$25 million for copyright infringement in a dispute with music
publisher BMG Rights Management.
The jury in Alexandria, Virginia also said Cox's
infringement was willful.
The decision, which came after a two-week trial, could have
a broader impact on how Internet companies conduct their
business as BMG pursued an unusual strategy of taking on an
Internet service provider instead of the alleged copyright
infringers themselves.
Cox spokesman Todd Smith said the company was reviewing its
legal options, including the possibility of an appeal. "We are
unhappy with the decision," he said.
A representative for BMG could not immediately be reached.
BMG sued privately held Cox in November 2014, claiming the
company was liable for infringement related to its customers'
unauthorized uploading or downloading of 1,398 of BMG's songs
using the BitTorrent file-sharing system.
BMG, which relies on a company called Rightscorp Inc
RIHT.PK to identify alleged infringers and alert Cox to their
activities, said in its complaint that Cox knew about and
profited from its customers' violations between 2012 and 2014.
A central claim to BMG's lawsuit was that Cox refused to cut
off service to repeat infringers, which Internet providers must
do under federal law to qualify for immunity from copyright
infringement claims. This allowed Cox to reap large profits at
the expense of copyright owners, BMG alleged.
Cox denied BMG's claims. It said BMG, a unit of German media
group Bertelsmann BTGGg.F , could not prove that its customers
directly infringed because Rightscorp's system identifies only
Internet addresses, not specific infringers.
On Thursday, the jury found that while Cox's customers used
its service to infringe BMG's copyrights, Cox itself contributed
to those violations.
Another company, Round Hill Music, was also a plaintiff in
the case, but U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady recently ruled
that it did not have exclusive rights in any of the copyrights
and did not have standing.
The case is BMG Rights Management LLC and Round Hill Music
LP v. Cox Enterprises Inc et al, in the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Virginia, No. 14-cv-1611.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and
Meredith Mazzilli)
((andrew.chung@thomsonreuters.com; 646.223.8022;))
Keywords: COX COPYRIGHT/