Section 505 of the Copyright Act provides that “a court may… award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs” in a copyright case. Ever since this somewhat ambiguous fee-shifting provision was enacted as part of the Copyright Act of 1976, the federal courts have been striving to delineate under
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A Foreign Affair (Supreme Court Edition): First Sale Doctrine Applies to Works Made Outside U.S.
By David M. Kohane & David S. Gold on
Posted in Copyrights
Can a person who buys copies of a copyright-protected work lawfully made and sold overseas sell those copies in the United States without the copyright owner’s permission? This question, arising under the “first sale” doctrine, has divided the lower courts. Last week the Supreme Court settled the question, with significant implications for individuals and entities…