Altice USA Hit With Second $1 Billion Copyright Lawsuit Over Subscriber Piracy
Altice USA faces a new $1 billion+ copyright lawsuit from Warner Music, Sony Music, and their publishing divisions for allegedly failing to prevent subscriber copyright infringement between December 2020 and December 2023.
The plaintiffs identified nearly 170 pages of allegedly infringed works, including songs from Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, and Fleetwood Mac. They claim Altice failed to take reasonable measures, such as terminating services of repeat infringers, to prevent unauthorized downloading of protected media.
Altice office building exterior daytime
According to the lawsuit, Altice received over 70,000 notices of file-sharing infringement between February 2020 and November 2023, complete with IP addresses identified by OpSec (formerly MarkMonitor). The plaintiffs argue that Altice deliberately ignored these violations to maintain subscriber numbers and profits.
The plaintiffs seek maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per infringed work, potentially exceeding $1 billion in total damages.
This case joins several other music industry lawsuits against ISPs, including:
- A $46.8 million verdict against Grande Communications (2022)
- A $1 billion jury award against Cox Communications (2019)
- A separate ongoing action by Concord, Universal Music, and BMG against Altice
Altice logo against dark city skyline
Altice Building against blue sky
The lawsuit alleges Altice knowingly profited from copyright infringement by failing to address repeat offenders, making it "an attractive tool and safe haven for infringement."
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