Cox to Fight Piracy Verdict After Judge Upholds $1B Award

Cox Communications said it plans to appeal the verdict and award in music labels' copyright infringement suit. "This lawsuit is a travesty, and the ruling remains unwarranted, unjust and beyond excessive," it emailed us Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady of Alexandria, Virginia, rejected its challenge of 2019's $1billion jury verdict amount (see 2002030066). In an order Tuesday (docket 18-cv-00950, in Pacer), O'Grady said Cox was arguing some of the 10,017 music works allegedly pirated by Cox broadband subscribers were derivative of others and thus ineligible for statutory damage awards, but "the number of derivative works in play in this case was a question for the jury" and Cox should have presented to the jury the evidence it presented to the court in its post-trial brief. "We absolutely should not be held liable for bad actions that others may have taken using Cox’s High-Speed Internet service," Cox told us. "We’re prepared to fight as long as necessary to correct this decision."