Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment (24-171)
- Term
- OT 2025
- Argued
- 2025-12-01
- Decided
- 2026-03-25
- Vote
- 9-0 for Cox
- Opinion
- Justice Thomas
- Majority
- Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
The case in brief
Facts
Cox Communications is an internet service provider with about 6 million subscribers. Sony Music Entertainment and other major music copyright owners used a company called MarkMonitor to track illegal sharing of their music, and over about two years MarkMonitor sent Cox 163,148 notices linking Cox subscriber accounts to infringement. Sony sued Cox, arguing that Cox shared responsibility for its users' copyright infringement because it kept serving accounts it knew were linked to infringement. A jury sided with Sony, found the infringement willful (deliberate), and awarded $1 billion in damages. A federal appeals court, the Fourth Circuit, upheld the finding of "contributory" liability (responsibility for helping others infringe), and the Supreme Court agreed to review that issue.
Question
Can an internet provider be held responsible for its customers' copyright infringement just because it knew certain accounts were being used to infringe and did not cut them off, without proof that it encouraged or intended the infringement?
Conclusion
Cox won in a unanimous 9-0 judgment, with Justice Thomas writing for the Court. The Court held that a service provider is responsible for a user's infringement only if it intended its service to be used for infringement, meaning it actively encouraged infringement or offered a service built for infringement. Cox did neither, because it did not promote infringement and its internet service has many lawful uses, and simply knowing about infringement is not enough. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Jackson, agreed Cox was not liable because there was no proof it intended to aid infringement, but criticized the majority for limiting liability to only two theories and weakening a safe-harbor protection Congress created.
Holding
Justice Thomas delivered a 7-2 opinion for the Court, joined by Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. The Court held that an ISP is contributorily liable for users' infringement only if it (1) induced the infringement or (2) provided a service tailored to infringement — mere knowledge is insufficient. Cox did neither: it didn't encourage infringement and its internet service has massive noninfringing uses.
Pre-decision prediction
Cox 5-4 (58% confidence, raw).
Opinion of the Court
Authored by Justice Thomas (7,948 words total).
4/6/2026 12:23:58 PM
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27 pages (196 KB) 3/24/2026 11:25:36 AM
27 pages (167 KB) 4/6/2026 12:22:04 PM
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Excerpt of 8 of 66 paragraphs. Full opinion available on the interactive page or in the official PDF.
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