BMG and Round Hill Attack ISP Cox Communications over Alleged Refusal to Remove Internet Service from Piracy Infringers

Some advice for the ideological lawsuit bringer: The higher up you strike with your litigation, the more likely it is to bring sweeping changes across a broader spectrum. We sincerely doubt that BMG and Round Hill Media had ideology in mind when it decided to sue Cox Communications of Northern Virginia (hint: money was the real inspiration) but they may have struck the solution to music piracy right on the head: Punish the internet service provider (ISP) for the sins of the user, and you can bet those users won't get the chance to do it again (from Hypebot).

The crux of the lawsuit is that BMG and Round Hill allege that Cox takes a lackadaisical approach to punishing users found to be engaging in illegal piracy because those who pirate are more likely to pay for higher speed internet access plans to accommodate their hobbies. Cox is, allegedly, turning a blind eye to generate a higher profit.

Is it grounds for a lawsuit? Based on the plaintiffs' arguments, Cox may have willingly ignored the regulations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the process. The act reads that ISPs "must adopt and reasonably implement a policy of terminating in appropriate circumstances the accounts of subscribers who are repeat infringers," according to Digital Music News.

Sure, that still leaves it ambiguous what constitutes a "repeat infringer." But if the reports from Rightscorp are accurate, found that initial infringers are most likely to infringe again. And why wouldn't they? Cox hasn't done anything to punish them for their illegal activity. That would mean losing a client.

If BMG and Round Hill can nail Cox for ignoring the problem at hand, you know that every other ISP around the country is going to get its act together as well.