Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment
Amicus Curiae Brief
A 鈥渇riend of the court鈥� or amicus, brief is filed by someone not a direct party to the case, but who has an interest in its outcome. These briefs seek to supplement the merits briefs by offering the Court additional arguments and information. Amicus briefs can be filed at the merits stage or at the certiorari stage.
What's at Stake
In a brief spearheaded by leading copyright scholars Rebecca Tushnet (Harvard Law), Mark Lemley (Stanford Law), and Chris Springman (NYU Law), the ACLU, the ACLU of Virginia, and the Center for Democracy and Technology filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment. In this significant copyright case, the Supreme Court will review a 4th Circuit ruling holding that an internet service provider could be liable for vast copyright damages because it took insufficient steps to disconnect IP addresses accused of downloading copyrighted material. The case is at the Supreme Court on the merits docket, with oral arguments scheduled for Monday, December 1, 2025.
Summary
At stake in this case is how readily speech intermediaries can be held liable for so-called contributory copyright infringement, where the actual infringement is done by third parties. The ACLU鈥檚 brief urges the Supreme Court to impose limits on contributory copyright liability for speech intermediaries such as bookstores, social media platforms, or 鈥� in this case 鈥� an internet service provider (ISP), because broad liability could have serious chilling effects for free expression.
In 2018, a group of music labels, led by Sony Music Entertainment, sued Cox Communications, an ISP with users across the country. The suit accused the company of contributing to individual internet users鈥� infringement of the labels鈥� copyrights by illegally downloading and distributing pirated content. A jury awarded Sony a billion dollars in copyright damages, and Cox appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling. The 4th Circuit upheld the jury鈥檚 finding of contributory copyright liability. Now, the Supreme Court will review that holding, with oral arguments scheduled to be heard on December 1, 2025.
The brief urges the Court to consider the chilling effect the Fourth Circuit鈥檚 holding has on First Amendment-protected speech, because it essentially obligates internet service providers to terminate entire accounts whenever a copyright holder makes an unsubstantiated allegation of infringement.
To accommodate these concerns, it urges the Court to adopt material contribution requirements for copyright liability that parallel the contributory liability test it adopted in Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, recognizing the importance of appropriately calibrating between copyright holders鈥� interests and avoiding the chilling of protected speech on the internet. I n a time where most Americans have a single choice for who provides their internet service, the public鈥檚 right to a free and open internet should not be suppressed by such a provider鈥檚 fear of potentially bankrupting copyright lawsuits.
Amici are the 老熟女午夜福利, the ACLU of Virginia, and the Center for Democracy and Technology.
Legal Documents
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09/05/2025
Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment Brief of Amici Curiae ACLU et al. in Support of Petitioners -
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09/18/2025
Notice of Errata - Corrected Address for Amici Curiae ACLU-VA
Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music EntertainmentLegal DocumentsNotice of Errata - Corrected Address for Amici Curiae ACLU-VADate Filed: 09/18/2025
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
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09/18/2025
Date Filed: 09/05/2025
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Press Releases
ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Protect Free Expression Online in Copyright Case