A federal judge has ordered Cox Communications to pay BMG more than $8 million in legal fees on top of $25 million in copyright damages already awarded in a lawsuit over music downloading.
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A federal judge has ordered Cox Communications to pay BMG RIghts Management more than $8 million in legal fees in a music downloading case that has already netted $25 million in damages. The judge said that the award would encourage others to take on “willful infringers with deep pockets.”
U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady said that without such an award, the cost of suing a company like Cox would “deter other potential plaintiffs from seeking to enforce their rights.”
The judge also scolded Cox. “In a hard-fought litigation battle such as this one, discovery disputes and fierce briefing are to be expected, and they should not be held too harshly against either party,” the Judge said. “Nonetheless, there are a few instances in which Cox’s advocacy crossed the line of objective reasonableness. In particular, both Cox’s attempts to obscure its practice of reinstating infringing customers, and its subsequent assertions of a deeply flawed DMCA defense evince a meritless litigation position that Cox vigorously defended.”
David Israelite, President of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) of which BMG is a member, welcomed the court’s decision. “As defenders of music creators, we applaud BMG for standing up to mass music piracy enablers like Cox, and we echo Judge O’Grady’s words that awarding legal fees rewards plaintiffs like BMG ‘for facing up against willful infringers with deep pockets’,” Israelite said. “The Court’s firm renouncing of Cox’s conduct serves as a stern warning to web providers who turn a blind eye to music theft.”
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