BMG v. Cox

BMG Rights Management sued Cox Communications for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement based on its subscribers’ peer-to-peer file-sharing. In August 2016, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia affirmed a previous ruling in favor of BMG, which found Cox liable for willful contributory infringement, and determined the ISP to be ineligible for safe harbor protection on the grounds that it failed to reasonably implement a repeat infringer policy. Cox appealed to the Fourth Circuit.

On February 14, 2017, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted BMG’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $8.4 million.

On February 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling affirming the lower court’s ruling that Cox was ineligible for safe harbor protection on the grounds that it failed to reasonably implement a repeat infringer policy, but reversed and remanded the case for a new trial due to errors in the jury instruction. The Court also vacated the $8.4 million award for fees and costs.

Procedural History

Fourth Circuit (Feb. 1, 2018)

Award of Attorney’s Fees EDVA (Feb. 14, 2017)

Eastern District of Virginia (Aug. 8, 2016)

Status: Fourth Circuit affirmed in part; reversed in part; vacated jury award; and remanded for new trial. (February 1, 2018)

Court: Fourth Circuit

Party Filings:

BMG’s Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc (Feb. 15, 2018)
BMG’s Reply Brief (Dec. 30, 2016)

Amicus Briefs

RIAA & NMPA (Feb. 22, 2018)
NMPA (Jan. 6, 2017)
MPAA (Jan. 6, 2017)
RIAA (Jan. 6, 2017)