A collection of major record labels have sued Verizon for turning a blind eye to users who illegally download content, a significant effort to curb piracy against one of the leading gatekeepers of the internet.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday in New York district court, the three major music conglomerates — Universal, Sony and Warner — joined by a host of other publishers, say they’ve notified Verizon of hundreds of thousands of repeat infringers but that company refuses to expel them. They seek roughly $2.6 billion and a court order that the company willfully infringed upon their copyrights.
The effort marks an aggressive step from the music industry to combat piracy. It comes amid some production companies similarly taking internet service providers, including AT&T and Comcast, to court for allegedly facilitating mass piracy of their content.
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1988, criminalizes services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works. It provides protection from liability for service providers, but it comes with conditions, like booting repeat infringers.
The labels argue Verizon, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, can’t avail itself of protections under the DMCA because it contributes to and profits from copyright infringement by ignoring mass piracy among its users. Since 2020, the labels have sent more than 340,000 infringement notices to Verizon, the lawsuit says. Thousands of Verizon subscribers were subject to at least 20 notices and more than 500 were subject to at least 100, according to the complaint.
Despite acknowledging that it received the notices, Verizon ignored them, “willfully blinding itself to that information and prioritizing its own profits over its legal obligations,” the lawsuit claims.
Copyright holders can submit infringement notices to Verizon through its so-called “Anti-Piracy Cooperation Program.” The labels argue its ineffective and meant to only give the appearance the company takes steps to curb infringement because it requires fees and for them to indemnify Verizon, which allegedly limits the number of notices it forwards. If they don’t waive legal claims, they’re directed to email a dedicated address where the notices sit without being forwarded to infringing users, the lawsuit says.
“Verizon undoubtedly recognized that if it terminated or otherwise prevented its repeat infringer subscribers from using its service to infringe, or made it less attractive for such use, [it] would enroll fewer new subscribers, lose existing subscribers, and ultimately lose revenue,” the complaint states.
The suit, which seeks $150,000 for over 17,000 infringed works, claims contributory and vicarious infringement.
In 2022, Verizon, AT&T and Comcast settled a trio of lawsuits from the companies behind companies behind Dallas Buyers Club, I Feel Pretty and Colossal for refusing to expel users who repeatedly pirates movies.