In a recent decision scrutinized by legal circles, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned a district court’s refusal to award attorney fees to defendants who had successfully defended allegations of copyright infringement. The Court of Appeals determined that the district court’s resolution strayed from the law, and the defendants were, in fact, eligibly entitled to such fees.
The details of this decision were offered via the Aug. 11 opinion which was presided over by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Kirsch for the Seventh Circuit. The reversal of the district court’s decision was announced on the grounds that its conviction that an award wouldn’t advance the purposes of the Copyright Act’s symmetrical fee-shifting provision deviated from the circuit’s established law.
Should the district court, on re-evaluation, decide that the defendants should recover their fees, any such award will also have to include the fees accrued during this appeal process. Notably, the costs of this appeal are to be taxed against the appellee.
Find the full account of the case on Law.com