Cox v. Sony and the New Contributory Infringement Standard: What ISPs, AI, and Platforms Must Do Now

Courtney Lytle Sarnow, Partner | CM Law

Courtney Lytle Sarnow is a partner in the Atlanta office of CM Law with more than twenty-five years of experience in a broad-based transactional practice focused on intellectual property and technology. Known for a creative, problem-solving approach, she helps growth-focused, technology-forward companies — along with artists, inventors, and entrepreneurial ventures — accomplish their goals within an informed legal framework rather than simply cataloguing what they cannot do.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Sarnow holds an LLM from Temple University School of Law, a JD from Emory University School of Law, and a BA from the University of Virginia. She is admitted to practice in Georgia, and her practice areas span Corporate and Business Services, Intellectual Property (including IP Transactions and Licensing), Mergers and Acquisitions, and Technology.

• Recognition & Leadership

A recognized voice on intellectual property and technology law, Ms. Sarnow authored the May 2026 Law360 analysis “High Court’s Cox Ruling Preserves Existing ISP Copyright Liability Standards” and presented “Can Creators Protect Their IP in the Era of AI” at the Federal Bar Association. She is the author of Skills and Values: Intellectual Property (Lexis Publishing, 2011) and the forthcoming Negotiate Like a Ninja (Vanderplas Publishing).

• Professional Involvement

For more than two decades, Ms. Sarnow has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law, offering courses in Copyright Law, Negotiations, and Intellectual Property. She is a longtime presenter at DragonCon (2007–present) on copyright and technology law, including intellectual property in game design, and has spoken at the Southern Interactive Entertainment and Game Expo and numerous bar and academic conferences.

• Experience

Ms. Sarnow began her career at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson in Atlanta, working in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group and in IP Licensing. She has also practiced at Booth, Wade and Campbell, served as a Teaching Fellow at Temple University School of Law, and continues to teach as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Emory.of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in Antitrust: From American Banana to Hartford Fire” (24 Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce 41, 1997).

SESSION 1 – The Decision and the New Rule | 1:00pm – 1:30pm

Establish what the Court held — the rejection of the Fourth Circuit’s knowledge-plus-inaction standard, the two surviving paths of inducement and tailoring, the grounding in Sony, Grokster, and Taamneh, and the majority-concurrence split over the reasoning.

SESSION 2 – The DMCA and the ISP Fallout | 1:30pm – 2:00pm

Shift to compliance. Cover the safe-harbor questions the decision raises, what ISPs should do now with repeat-infringer policies, and how the ruling reshapes pending ISP litigation — the counseling half for providers documenting anti-infringement efforts.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 3 – Beyond ISPs and the Litigation Playbook | 2:10pm – 2:40pm

Extend the rule to generative AI tools, social media, and e-commerce marketplaces, then land on the playbook — what plaintiffs must plead to clear the intent bar and how defendants build the substantial-non-infringing-use record.