Intellectual Property News and Reports

In this copyright action involving ownership rights to the classic board game, The Game of Life, conveyed more than six decades ago, the prevailing defendants seek attorney's fees from the unsuccessful plaintiffs. The district court denied fees for the trial-level proceedings, and the defendants claim on appeal that the court abused its discretion in doing so. The defendants also moved in this court for appellate attorney's fees. The Copyright Act of 1976 permits the award of reasonable fees and costs to a prevailing party, see 17 U.S.C. § 505, and the Supreme Court has endorsed a set of nonexclusive factors to be considered by courts in evaluating whether to award fees, see Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 534 & n.19 (1994). After carefully considering those factors and other aspects of the record, we affirm the district court's decision to deny fees and, primarily for the same reasons, decline to award fees for the appeal.

Download Markham Concepts Inc. v. Hasbro Inc.