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Appeals court overturned $1 billion verdict against Cox in

February

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Labels say award should be reinstated, Cox says it did not

infringe

By Blake Brittain

March 6 (Reuters) - Internet service provider Cox

Communications and a group of major record labels

including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group ( WMG )

and Sony Music have both asked a U.S. appeals

court to rehear an appeal of a $1 billion copyright verdict that

the labels won against Cox four years ago.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined last month

that the billion-dollar amount was not justified. The labels

told the court on Tuesday that Cox had waived its arguments

against the award, while Cox argued that it should not have been

held liable at all.

Spokespeople for Cox and Warner Music ( WMG ) declined to comment on

the filings on Wednesday. An attorney representing all of the

labels and spokespeople for Sony Music and UMG did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 50 labels teamed up to sue Cox in 2018, in a test

of internet service providers' (ISPs) obligations to thwart

piracy. The labels accused Cox of failing to address thousands

of infringement notices, cut off access for repeat infringers or

take reasonable measures to deter pirates.

A Virginia jury found in 2019 that Cox, the largest unit of

privately-owned Cox Enterprises, was liable for its customers'

violations of more than 10,000 music copyrights and owed $1

billion in damages.

The appeals court said in February that the award could not

stand, reversing part of the infringement verdict and remanding

the case for a new trial on damages.

Atlanta-based Cox told the 4th Circuit on Tuesday that the

entire infringement verdict should be reversed.

"The resulting regime is the most severe in the country,"

Cox said. "If an ISP receives more than one accusation that some

anonymous person used a specified internet connection to

download infringing songs, it can avoid liability only by

swiftly throwing every person in that home or business off the

internet."

The labels asked the circuit to reinstate the award, arguing

that Cox had forfeited its challenge by requesting the type of

award that the jury granted.

"Cox's proposed jury instructions and verdict form - which

the District Court adopted - instructed the jury to award a

unitary per-work damage amount" if it infringed any copyrights,

the labels said. "Cox's challenge to a unitary damages award

that Cox itself requested is barred."

The case is Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications

Inc, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-1168.

For the record labels: Matthew Oppenheim, Scott Zebrak and

Jeffrey Gould of Oppenheim + Zebrak; Catherine Stetson of Hogan

Lovells

For Cox: Joshua Rosenkranz, Mark Davies and Christopher

Cariello of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe; Michael Elkin and

Jennifer Golinveaux of Winston & Strawn

Read more:

Cox to pay $1 billion to music labels, publishers over

piracy infringement

Cox Communications wins order overturning $1 billion US

copyright verdict