July 21, 2015

Jay-Z Awarded Attorney's Fees For Defeating Copyright Claim On Statute Of Limitations Grounds

Mahan v. Roc Nation LLC, Case 1:14-cv-05075-LGS (SDNY filed 07/17/1) [Doc. 81].

After defeating an alleged co-owner's copyright infirngement claims on statute of limitations grounds, the Court awarded Jay-Z and related parties attorney's fees of over $280,000.  The Court found that the Defendants were entitled to attorneys’ fees because Plaintiff’s claims under the Copyright Act were plainly time barred and therefore objectively unreasonable.  The amount of fees requested was reduced by 10%, however, because Plaintiff asserted five total claims, one of which was a state law claim which, unlike the Copyright Act, did not permit a grant of attorney's fees.