Resolving disagreements in the lower courts about how to address attorney's fees in a copyright case, in Kirtsaeng, DBA Bluechristine99 v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the United States Supreme Court held that while a district court should give "substantial weight" to the objective reasonableness of a losing party's position, the district court "must" take into account all factors. Other nonexclusive factors to consider in this weighted fee-shifting factor approach include frivolousness, motivation, objective unreasonableness and the need in particular circumstances to advance considerations of compensation and deterrence. Furthermore, the Court cautioned that a finding of objective reasonableness is not controlling and does not create a presumption against granting fees.
The Court provides this weighted fee-shifting factor approach to further "channel" district court discretion towards the purposes of the Copyright Act, which are to "enrich [ ] the general public through access to creative works" by striking a balance between encouraging and rewarding authors' creations and enabling others to build on that work.
Summer associate Michelle Haws also contributed to this article.
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