Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment (24-171)
- Term
- OT 2025
- Argued
- 2025-12-01
- Decided
- 2026-03-25
- Vote
- 9-0 for Cox
- Opinion
- Justice Thomas
- Majority
- Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Holding
Justice Thomas delivered a 7-2 opinion for the Court, joined by Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. The Court held that an ISP is contributorily liable for users' infringement only if it (1) induced the infringement or (2) provided a service tailored to infringement — mere knowledge is insufficient. Cox did neither: it didn't encourage infringement and its internet service has massive noninfringing uses.
Pre-decision prediction
Cox 5-4 (58% confidence).
Opinion of the Court
Authored by Justice Thomas (7,948 words total).
4/6/2026 12:23:58 PM
Compare Results Old File:
27 pages (196 KB) 3/24/2026 11:25:36 AM
27 pages (167 KB) 4/6/2026 12:22:04 PM
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Excerpt of 8 of 66 paragraphs. Full opinion available on the interactive page or in the official PDF.
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