Lahiri v. Universal Music & Video Dist. Corp.
Lahiri v....(U.S. 9th Cir., Civil Procedure, Copyright, Entertainment Law, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Intellectual Property, International Law, Sanctions) In plaintiff’s counsel’s appeal from an order by the district court sanctioning him for his five-year bad faith pursuit of a frivolous copyright infringement claim, the order is affirmed where: 1) had counsel, a self-described experienced copyright lawyer, made even a cursory investigation into the circumstances of plaintiff’s 21-year old composition, he would have known plaintiff had no copyright interest in music he composed for hire; 2) counsel’s repeated misrepresentations of Indian copyright law clearly evidenced his recklessness and bad faith; and 3) the district court carefully excluded inadequately documented costs, as well as taxable costs not included in defendants’ bill of costs.
