The Supreme Court delivered a major defeat to Sony and major record labels in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, ruling that cable Internet providers cannot be held liable for customers who use broadband connections to download pirated content. The March 25 unanimous ruling found that Cox did not induce copyright infringement nor tailor its service specifically for illegal downloads.

Sony had originally won a $1 billion verdict against Cox in 2019 after the company failed to terminate users flagged for repeated copyright infringement. An appeals court overturned the damages but found Cox guilty of contributory infringement—a partial win that would have led to another damages trial until the Supreme Court intervened.

The ruling's impact extends well beyond ISPs. Google, Meta, X, and Nvidia have all cited the Cox decision in defense filings against similar claims. Record labels have already dropped pending cases against Verizon and Altice. As one attorney noted, the decision appears to apply to any technology provider whose service has substantial noninfringing uses.

The ruling builds on Sony's own 1984 Betamax victory, when the company convinced the Court that selling a product capable of legal uses didn't constitute contributory infringement. Now that precedent shields the company from being held liable for how others use its services.