Supreme Court's Cox Ruling Reshapes Copyright Fight, With AI Cases Next in Line
The high court's 9-0 Cox v. Sony ruling hands AI developers a ready-made defense against claims that their models are built for infringement.
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2026 – The Supreme Court's unanimous decision shielding internet service providers from liability for their subscribers' copyright infringement has established a clean legal test that will likely define the wave of artificial intelligence copyright litigation now working through the courts, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's legal director said Wednesday.
Speaking on Broadband Breakfast Live Online, Corynne McSherry said the March ruling in Cox v. Sony reaffirmed decades-old precedent that general purpose tools cannot be held responsible for every misuse. Liability attaches only when a company induces infringement or builds a product tailored for it.
Broadband Breakfast
"We now have a nice, clean, clear test," McSherry said. "It's predictable. You really want that, especially if you're a business who's just trying to operate, but also if you're a user who's relying on that business."
A unanimous court, and why it landed that way
Sony sued Cox Communications after sending hundreds of thousands of infringement notices, arguing the ISP failed to terminate repeat infringers. A jury returned a $1 billion verdict on a theory of contributory liability, upheld by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, before the Supreme Court reversed 9-0.
