Secondary Liability and Copyright Infringement: Best Practices After Cox Communications v. Sony Music

This CLE webinar will guide IP counsel on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment and what the decision means for secondary copyright liability. The panel will discuss the decision and concurrence. The panel will offer best practices for secondary liability for copyright infringement.

The Supreme Court addressed secondary liability for copyright infringement for the first time since 2005 in its Mar. 25, 2026, decision in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. The Court reversed the Fourth Circuit ruling and held that "[u]nder our precedents, a company is not liable as a copyright infringer for merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights."

The Court focused on the intent requirement for contributory liability. Mere knowledge of subscribers' potential infringement was not enough. The Court noted that, while Cox, an internet service provider (ISP), provided general access, it did not encourage infringement. 

Justice Sotomayor expressed concern in her concurring opinion that "ISPs no longer face any realistic probability of secondary liability for copyright infringement, regardless of whether they take steps to address infringement on their networks and regardless of what they know about their users' activity." She also noted the possible impact the decision will have on the DMCA safe harbor. Her concurrence may assist copyright owners in advancing the secondary liability theory.

Listen as our authoritative panel of IP attorneys examines secondary liability after the Supreme Court's decision in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. The panel will review the doctrine of secondary liability and discuss both the decision and Justice Sotomayor's concurrence. The panel will offer best practices going forward.