Is A "Prevailing Party" Really Entitled To Attorneys Fees Under the Copyright Act? SCOTUS To Decide

$2 Million In Pro Bono Legal Fees At Issue In Copyright First Sale Doctrine CaseOn January 15, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari based on the following preamble and question presented:Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides that a “court may … award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party” in a copyright case. 17 U.S.C. § 505. The Ninth and Eleventh Circuits award attorneys’ fees when the prevailing party’s successful claim or defense advanced the purposes of the Copyright Act. The Fifth and Seventh Circuits employ a presumption in favor of attorneys’ fees for a prevailing party that the losing party must overcome. Other courts of appeals primarily employ the several “nonexclusive factors” this Court identified in dicta in Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 534 n.19 (1994). And the Second Circuit, as it did in this case, places “substantial weight”…