Major record labels are urging a Texas federal court to uphold its $47 million piracy liability judgement against internet provider Grande Communications. This follows Grande's September appeal of the original ruling, which found them guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement.

In an 89-page response brief, the labels argue that the jury's verdict should stand, emphasizing that ISPs play a crucial role in addressing online piracy as they're the only ones who can identify subscribers through IP addresses. The labels contend that Grande failed to meet its legal obligations by not terminating accounts of known repeat copyright infringers.

Key points from the labels' argument:

• Grande understood its legal obligations but ignored them since 2010
• The company continued collecting fees from known copyright infringers
• Grande terminated accounts for non-payment but took no action against piracy
• The decision was financially motivated

Grande's appeal relies heavily on the Twitter vs Tammneh ruling, arguing that ISPs are even more removed from wrongdoing than social media platforms are from terrorist activity. However, the labels counter that this ruling shouldn't apply to copyright infringement cases.

The labels assert that reversing the verdict would make it nearly impossible to combat online piracy effectively. Should the original ruling not be upheld, the music companies plan to file a counter-appeal.

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