Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
94 F.3d 553 (1996)
John Fogerty (defendant), former lead singer of Creedence Clearwater Revival, wrote a new song, "The Old Man Down the Road," in the same swamp-rock style as his earlier song "Run Through the Jungle," whose copyright Fantasy, Inc. (plaintiff) now owned. Fantasy sued Fogerty for infringement based on the two songs' similarities, but a jury cleared him. The district court denied Fogerty attorney's fees under old circuit precedent that let prevailing defendants recover fees only if the plaintiff had been culpable in bringing the suit; on appeal, the Supreme Court rejected that asymmetric rule and remanded. On remand, the district court awarded Fogerty over $1.3 million in fees but denied him prejudgment interest, and both sides appealed their respective losses.
Whether a district court has discretion to award attorney's fees to a prevailing party in a copyright action, including a prevailing defendant who was not shown to have faced a culpable plaintiff, when the award furthers the purposes of the Copyright Act.