Supreme Court shields ISPs from subscriber music piracy liability

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that internet service providers aren’t liable for copyright infringement committed by subscribers unless the provider directly intended or actively encouraged the piracy, applying the Grokster framework to Cox Communications’ multi-year case. Cox, which serves about six million subscribers, had faced a $1 billion damages verdict that was overturned on appeal; the decision narrows ISP liability to cases of active involvement rather than mere knowledge that infringement will occur.