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9th Circuit Says Copyright Attorney Fees Available in Declaratory Suits
A declaratory judgment action for copyright abandonment can give rise to fee shifting under the Copyright Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in a case of first impression. Doc's Dream LLC v. Dolores Press Inc., 18-56073. The appeal court's decision means that a Georgia minister's company that rebroadcasts the sermons of TV preacher Eugene Scott could be on the hook for up to $307,000 in attorney fees.
"We hold that, even when asserted as a claim for declaratory relief, any action that turns on the existence of a valid copyright and whether that copyright has been infringed invokes the Copyright Act, and thus attorney's fees may be available pursuant to §505," Circuit Judge Consuelo M. Callahan wrote for a unanimous Ninth Circuit panel.
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