A federal court jury in Virginia, in Sony Music Entertainment, et al. v. Cox Communications, et al., has awarded a coalition of music industry copyright holders a $1 billion verdict against Cox Communications, the United States’ third-largest internet and cable television provider, after finding Cox guilty of both contributory and vicarious copyright infringement of a total of 10,017 works.
Finding the infringement willful, the jury awarded $99,830.29 for each work infringed under the statutory damages range provided for in the Copyright Act. Multiplication of the number of works times the statutory damages awarded reveals a number slightly higher than $1 billion, perhaps exposing the jury’s desire to aim for a large, round number in determining damages, and thereby punish Cox.
Excerpted from the Intellectual Property & Technology Journal. To read the full article, click on the PDF linked below: