The Eleventh Circuit has rendered a decision in a copyright case concerning a Florida-based real estate broker and an aerial photography firm, with implications for many global corporations and law firms. The broker, defending a copyright infringement claim from the aerial photography company, will not have his attorney fees paid for this defense. The court reasoned that, because the case was voluntarily dismissed by the photography enterprise, the broker did not achieve the status of a ‘prevailing party’, hence he is not eligible to collect attorney fees.
Many legal disputes and cases are resolved outside of court, with voluntary dismissal being common. Whether this ruling signals a shift in courts’ willingness to award attorney fees in voluntarily dropped cases remains to be seen. However, it undoubtedly will make legal professionals think twice about the financial implications of such suits, in both initiating and defending copyright infringement cases.
For those interested in examining further details of this particular case, the original court documentations and commentary can be found at Law360.