Labels Drop Copyright Suits Against Verizon, Optimum After Cox Ruling
The music industry was seeking $2.6 billion from Verizon and $1.6 billion from Optimum.
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2026 – Record labels have dropped two major copyright suits against ISPs after the Supreme Court ruled broadband providers effectively can’t be held liable for the copyright infringement of their users.
The industry was seeking $2.6 billion in damages from Verizon and $1.6 billion from Optimum, formerly Altice USA, for not acting quickly enough to take repeat music pirates offline.
On April 22, both sides in each case told judges they had settled and wanted the case dismissed. The judge in the Verizon case acted on April 24 and dismissed the case, while the Optimum action has yet to be officially closed.
The dismissals come after the Supreme Court ruled in a similar lawsuit against Cox Communications that ISPs need to openly encourage copyright infringement to be held liable for their subscribers piracy. Simply keeping repeat ingringers online won’t cut it under the March precedent. That standard is exactly what Cox was looking for, since broadband providers aren’t likely to push subscribers to infringe.
The high court also reversed this month a $46 million penalty against a subsidiary of Astound Broadband, citing its ruling in the Cox case.
Optimum settled a separate copyright case brought by a host of record labels in 2024 for an undisclosed sum. The music industry was seeking $1 billion in that case.
The broadband industry and consumer advocates supported Cox, arguing if ISPs could be held liable for subscriber infringement they would end up kicking people off of essential services to avoid massive penalties. The music industry argued Cox’s position would make copyright law ineffective by allowing broadband providers to avoid taking any action when subscribers repeatedly infringe.
Two Supreme Court justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, agreed. They said at the time the decision, with which they agreed with respect to Cox, would allow ISPs to scrap their anti-infringement policies because they could effectively never be liable under the ruling.
“The majority’s decision thus permits ISPs to sell an internet connection to every single infringer who wants one without fear of liability and without lifting a finger to prevent infringement,” Sotomayor wrote. “It also means that Cox is free to abandon its current policy of responding to copyright infringement.”
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