A Virginia U.S. District Court jury has found that Cox is "willfully" liable for copyright infringement by users of its Internet service and has awarded music company BMG $25 million in statutory damages.
That is according to a copy of a two-page jury verdict in a long-running suit, a copy of which was obtained by B&C.
The jury found that users infringed, that Cox contributed to that infringement, but that Cox does not have vicarious liability for infringement of BMG's copyrights.
"We believe this decision sends a message to ISPs that they have a responsibility to act upon and limit the massive copyright infringement using their networks that has been brought to their attention by copyright owners," said BMG lead counsel Michael Allan.
"We're not happy, and are reviewing the decision [he said it had not seen the full decision at press time] and considering all options, including appealing it," said Cox spokesman Todd Smith.
