Altice USA has settled a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit brought against the internet service operator by music industry giants in December 2022. BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Group (UMG), Capitol Records, and Concord Music Group sued Altice for allegedly failing to act against copyright violators among its customers. The music companies accused Altice of knowingly contributing to, and earning "substantial profits from, copyright infringement committed by thousands of its subscribers." A joint filing dated August 14 revealed that the lawsuit has been dismissed. Altice, however, is facing a similar complaint from Warner Records and Sony Music Publishing, filed in December 2023. The lawsuit alleges that certain of Altice's internet subscribers directly infringed over 10,700 of the companies' copyrighted works. The legal action cites the maximum statutory fine of $150,000 per alleged violation, implying that damages sought by Warner Records and Sony Music, among other plaintiffs, from Altice USA could exceed $1.6 billion.

Source: CIP Today