eBay Defeats Contributory Copyright Claim–Lee v. SBS

Lee is enforcing music copyrights against karaoke machine makers that allegedly include copyrighted songs. He sent numerous NOCIs to eBay targeting the machines. eBay apparently honored the NOCIs. However, Lee really wanted staydowns, which eBay did not do. Lee claims his NOCIs conferred sufficient knowledge of infringement to warrant the staydowns. In the wake of Cox v. Sony, Lee’s pro se lawsuit goes nowhere (plus the court warns Lee not to rely on generative AI without double-checking the outputs).

Contributory Infringement

Inducement to Infringe. The court says it’s not inducement when “Plaintiff merely alleges that Defendant knowingly allowed listings of infringing TJ Karaoke devices to remain active on its website despite having the ability to remove the listings….Nor has Plaintiff alleged facts giving rise to an inference that the ‘principal object’ of Defendant’s online marketplace is the sale of infringing products. [cite to Grokster]”

Tailored to Infringement. The plaintiff did not allege that “Defendant’s service is incapable of substantial or commercially significant noninfringing uses….allegations that a service provider merely had ‘knowledge that a service will be used to infringe’ or ‘fail[ed] to take affirmative steps to prevent infringement’ are insufficient to state a claim for contributory infringement liability.” Given eBay’s scope, I don’t see how a plaintiff could allege that eBay is “incapable of substantial or commercially significant noninfringing uses.”

Vicarious Infringement

Citing Milo & Gabby, the court says the “mere fact that Defendant had the ability to remove listings of infringing devices is not enough to establish that Defendant had both the legal right and the practical ability to stop the third-party sellers’ infringing conduct.” The court doesn’t discuss the direct financial interest prong, which poses a heightened challenge to eBay due to its commission structure.

Did Cox Make a Difference?

The Supreme Court’s Cox v. Sony decision didn’t address vicarious copyright infringement, so that part of the ruling wasn’t affected by the Cox case.

This court did apply the revised Cox standards for contributory copyright infringement, and the application of those factors makes this an even easier case. Lee made knowledge-based allegations, but–as the Cox court seemingly intended–Lee could not spin those allegations to satisfy an intent-based standard. It makes quick work for a defendant like eBay who has taken many steps to reduce copyright infringement.

(It remains to be seen if courts will (1) bend the standards in Cox to distill evidence of intent from knowledge-based allegations, or (2) bend the standards of direct or vicarious infringement to gapfill the narrowed contributory infringement standard. Fortunately, this court did neither. However, it was also a pro se case, not a full-scale assault to degrade the Cox standards that rightsowners will launch eventually).

However, I don’t think Lee’s claims would have gotten far with the pre-Cox jurisprudence either. Courts have routinely rejected staydown demands from plaintiffs. Also, eBay’s honoring of the NOCIs means that it would have likely qualified for the 512(c) safe harbor too. Still, those defenses might not have worked until summary judgment, at significant defense costs, while the Cox precedent easily and decisively ends this case on a motion to dismiss.

Case Citation: Lee v. SBS Corp., 2:26-cv-03144-MCS-E (C.D. Cal. July 9, 2026)