The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Wednesday reinstated an antitrust lawsuit that accuses major record labels of price-fixing nearly 80 percent of US digital music sales. In overturning a lower court decision to dismiss the case, the appeals court found that the defendants, music industry giants including Sony, Time Warner, EMI, Universal, and Virgin Records, may have been in violation of the Sherman Act, which established the country's antitrust laws.

The court held, "that Plaintiffs-Appellants' Second Consolidated Amended Complaint ("SCAC") contains 'enough factual matter to suggest that an agreement was made,' and therefore states a claim." The court did not rule on the merits of the case, which was remanded to the district court for further proceedings.