Altice USA Settles Major Copyright Lawsuit with BMG as Q2 Impairments Hit $47 Million
BMG and other music companies have settled their copyright infringement lawsuit against internet service provider Altice USA after 20 months of litigation. The settlement terms remain confidential, but Altice's Q2 2024 earnings report revealed $46.6 million in "restructuring, impairments and other operating items," including "significant legal settlements."
Altice office building exterior daytime
The original lawsuit, which sought up to $1 billion in damages, accused Altice of failing to address repeat copyright infringement by its subscribers. The presiding judge dismissed the claims with prejudice, with each party bearing their own costs and legal fees.
This settlement, however, doesn't resolve all of Altice's legal challenges. In December 2023, Warner Music, Sony Music, and others filed a separate $1 billion copyright lawsuit against the company, which remains active.
The music industry continues to pursue similar litigation against other ISPs:
- Frontier Communications faces ongoing legal battles
- Grande Communications was ordered to pay a $47 million judgment
- Verizon was sued in mid-July in New York federal court
- Cox Communications recently appealed to the Supreme Court following a vacated $1 billion verdict from 2019
Altice logo against dark city skyline
Altice Building against blue sky
This settlement marks a significant development in the ongoing battle between music rights holders and internet service providers over copyright infringement responsibility.
Related Articles
The Fugees' Pras Michel Faces $64M Government Seizure After Embezzlement Case
