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The labels argue that Verizon deliberately ignored customers pirating music over its network
A group of major record labels including UMG Recordings, Warner Music, and Sony Music are suing US wireless giant Verizon, accusing them of knowingly facilitating music piracy.
The lawsuit argues that “early 350,000 infringement notices” have been sent to Verizon since 2020, covering the piracy of 17,335 tracks from artists or bands. The lawsuit alleges that Verizon “fostered a safe haven for infringement in light of its lax policies and thus encouraged its subscribers to infringe”.
“Verizon’s failure to take meaningful action against its infringing subscribers drew subscribers engaging in Internet piracy to purchase Verizon’s services, so that those subscribers could infringe Plaintiffs’ (and others’) copyrights and avoid obtaining that copyrighted content through legitimate channels. Infringing subscribers were drawn to Verizon’s services both because of its lax policies concerning copyright infringement and faster internet speeds that facilitated the use of P2P protocols for those willing to pay more,” read the lawsuit.
“Verizon fostered a safe haven for infringement in light of its lax policies and thus encouraged its subscribers to infringe. The specific infringing subscribers identified in Plaintiffs’ notices, including the particularly egregious infringers identified above, knew that Verizon would not terminate their accounts despite receiving multiple notices identifying them as infringers, and they remained Verizon subscribers so that they could continue illegally downloading copyrighted works.”
The affected labels are pushing for the maximum possible financial penalty for each breach of the Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), potentially awarding each plaintiff $150,000 per violation.
In total, this could find Verizon liable to pay up to $2.6 billion to affected companies.
This type of lawsuit is not without precedent in the US. Over the past decade, the question of whether CSPs should be held responsible for copyright violations committed by their subscribers has been at the centre of numerous lawsuits. Perhaps the most notable of these occurred in 2019, when a court found Cox Communications guilty of failing to remove known music pirates from its network, ordering the company to pay $1 billion in damages.
This total was ultimately deemed excessive following an appeal process that concluded this year, with a new trial being organised to determine a more reasonable amount.
Thus, while it seems a stretch to suggest – as the lawsuit does – that music pirates are subscribing to Verizon specifically due to the company’s lax attitude towards copyright infringement, there is a legal precedent for CSPs being liable for their customers’ piracy.
Verizon has yet to comment on the situation.
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