Tag Archives: Attorneys’ Fees

Objective Reasonableness Can Be Central to Fee-Shifting Analysis in Copyright Cases

GyroIn Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the Supreme Court clarified the test for awarding attorney’s fees when applying the Copyright Act’s discretionary fee-shifting provision, 17 U.S.C. § 505. The Court held that the objective reasonableness of a losing party’s position should be given “substantial weight”—but not necessarily control—the outcome of a fee petition.  The lower courts had varied considerably in their approach to the discretionary fee-shifting analysis. … More

Supreme Court Rulings Will Make Fee Awards More Likely In Trademark Cases As Well As Patent Cases

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc. and Highmark v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc., companion cases that will make it easier for prevailing parties to recover attorneys’ fees in patent infringement litigation. Together, the cases may have far-reaching consequences for litigation strategy and case management in cases involving a range of intellectual property disputes, not just patents.… More