Cox Communications Files Appeal Against BMG

One of the leading internet providers in the country, Cox Communications, recently filed an appeal to overturn the $25 million damages verdict against the company in their case against music provider, BMG. The internet service provider claimed that the district court has made several errors in their previous verdict. As a result of this, the internet access of millions of subscribers might be terminated on the basis of one-sided evidence.

In the earlier ruling, Cox Communications was held responsible by a Virginia federal jury for the copyright infringements of their own subscribers. The jury found the internet provider guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and the company was asked to pay $25 million in damages to the BMG Rights Management.

It was evident that the verdict was a huge victory for the music provider and a tragedy for Cox Communications. Cox has earlier requested the Virginia federal court for a new trial, but they denied their request. This urged the internet provider to go to the Court of Appeals in hopes of overturning the verdict.

Cox Communications submitted a 93-page filing to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently. In the filing, Cox warned the court that the case has brought many uncertainties to the industry and wrote that, “This case involves an unprecedented attempt to impose liability on an Internet service provider (ISP) for its subscribers’ alleged copyright infringement. Yet the court sanctioned a novel expansion of contributory liability to ISPs, based not on evidence that the ISP actually knew of specific infringing acts or took affirmative steps to foster infringement, but on the ISP’s constructive knowledge of the existence of infringing activity on its network.”

Reports say that Cox is looking to reverse the previous judgment or to get an opportunity to for a new trial through this appeal. The company stated that this case began when they refused to forward infringement notices that contained “extortionate” settlement requests to the music provider.

Cox also added that they asked Rightscorp, who is the anti-piracy partner of BMG, to remove the settlement demands, if they wanted the notices to be delivered to them, but they declined to take out the settlement demands. This dispute gradually ended in a verdict, where Cox was found guilty by the district court. However, Cox is determined to reverse the ruling through their appeal.