Case of the Day: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2016 U.S. LEXIS 3922 (June 16, 2016)

Summary:

A prevailing party sought attorney's fees from the losing party in accordance with Section 505 of the Copyright Act. The lower courts denied the application, finding that the losing party advanced reasonable (although ultimately non-meritorious) legal theory.

The Supreme Court mostly found in favor of the losing party, but vacated the lower court opinion because the Second Circuit opinion at times appeared that reasonableness of the losing argument was the dispositive factor rather than one factor (albeit a substantial one) among several.