More SCOTUS Briefs Support Argument of Cox's Role in Contributory Infringement
Parties including author groups and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) are backing a set of music label plaintiffs as Cox Communications appeals its liability for contributory copyright infringement stemming from piracy by some of its internet subscribers (see 2408160034). Amicus briefs were posted Wednesday from the Motion Picture Association and recording artist and songwriter organizations (see 2510220022).
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Also among those submitting amicus briefs Wednesday to the U.S. Supreme Court to support the music labels were the Copyright Alliance; a coalition of groups representing music interests and performers, including the American Federation of Musicians of the U.S. and Canada and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists; and former members of Congress and U.S. Copyright Office registers.
The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America and other writing interests jointly told SCOTUS that technology providers aren't immune from liability when they intentionally encourage infringement. It's impossible to focus on direct enforcement of copyright in a world where millions of users can distribute copyrighted works, making the doctrine of contributory infringement "essential" to overcome those practical enforcement obstacles, they said.
NCOSE said platforms trying to use the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 2025 Twitter decision in a wide array of contexts "would impair efforts to protect children from the irreparable harm of sexual exploitation." That case involved Twitter not taking down child sexual abuse content, with the 9th Circuit rejecting the argument that the social media platform profits from all posts on its site and thus profited from child pornography. The music label plaintiffs in the Cox copyright litigation have argued that the cable ISP profited from not terminating internet access to subscribers accused of online music piracy.