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The music labels claim Verizon was aware of ongoing piracy but chose to ‘bury its head in the sand’ and profit from their actions.
Multiple music labels including UMG Recordings, Warner Music and Sony Music have sued telecoms giant Verizon for allegedly ignoring copyright infringement for profit and are seeking roughly $2.6bn in penalties.
These labels claim Verizon knowingly provides its internet services to online pirates, who repeatedly use Verizon to steal sound recordings from the music labels and infringe on copyright. The lawsuit claims Verizon has been sent “hundreds of thousands of copyright infringement notices” by the music labels.
The plaintiffs of this lawsuit claim that Verizon ignored these copyright infringement notices and “buried its head in the sand”, which led to continued piracy from “thousands of repeat infringers”. The lawsuit says Verizon created a “safe haven” for infringement so it could “continue to collect millions of dollars from them”.
The plaintiffs say they are entitled to as much as $150,000 per violation under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). With the number of tracks listed in the lawsuit, this could add up to as much as $2.6bn in damages, The Verge reports.
“Verizon’s failure to take meaningful action against its infringing subscribers drew subscribers engaging in internet piracy to purchase Verizon’s services,” the lawsuit reads. “Infringing subscribers were drawn to Verizon’s services both because of its lax policies concerning copyright infringement and faster internet speeds that facilitated the use of P2P protocols for those willing to pay more.
“Verizon fostered a safe haven for infringement in light of its lax policies and thus encouraged its subscribers to infringe.”
The lawsuit claims Verizon was fully aware that its network was being used for unlawful purposes and that, if it had taken action against “known repeat infringers”, it could have prevented further piracy.
“Verizon chose instead to contribute to, facilitate and profit from the repeated infringements of its subscribers,” the lawsuit said. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment from The Hollywood Reporter.
The response follows similar moves in the movie industry in recent years, as various production companies sued Comcast, Verizon and AT&T for failing to stop movie piracy under the DMCA.
Last year, multiple music labels hit The Internet Archive with a massive copyright lawsuit over the digitisation of vintage records. That lawsuit claims the website reproduced thousands of protected songs without copyright permission.
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