Supreme Court rejects Sony's attempt to kick music pirates off the Internet

Supreme Court the Supreme Court limited internet service provider liability for customer copyright infringement, iSPs are not liable unless they take specific steps that cause users to infringe copyrights.

The Court ruled unanimously for Cox Communications two justices did not agree with the majority’s reasoning.

Clarence Thomas Justice Clarence Thomas authored the Court’s opinion, thomas wrote that Cox did not induce infringement or provide a service tailored to infringement.

Supreme Court the Court held a service is tailored to infringement only if it lacks substantial or commercially significant noninfringing uses the opinion cited Sony’s 1984 Betamax precedent and the 2005 Grokster decision.

Cox Communications Cox previously faced a $1 billion verdict for music piracy in 2019 the damages award was overturned in 2024 but an appeals court still found willful contributory infringement.