John Abdelsayed, et al. v. Affordable Aerial Photography, Inc.

The Copyright Act provides that a <court may . . . award a reasonable attorney9s fee to the prevailing party.= 17 U.S.C. § 505. In CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. EEOC, 578 U.S. 419 (2016), this Court held that <a defendant need not obtain a favorable judgment on the merits in order to be a 8prevailing party9= for purposes of statutory attorney9s fees, id. at 431, but <decline[d] to decide= whether <a defendant must obtain a preclusive judgment in order to prevail,= id. at 434. That important question has divided the circuits 7-3, and is cleanly presented in this copyright case:

1. Does a dismissal without prejudice that reestablishes the pre-suit status quo make a defendant the <prevailing party= under 17 U.S.C. §§ 505 and 1203(b)(5)? A further and related question left unaddressed in Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. August, 450 U.S. 346 (1981), is presented, and important to all civil litigants:

2. Is a final judgment of voluntary dismissal without prejudice, entered in response to a plaintiff9s request under Rule 41(a)(2), a <judgment that [a plaintiff] finally obtains= for purposes of Rule 68? These questions provide related, defendant-based counterpoise to those now pending in Lackey v. Stinnie, 144 S. Ct. 1390 (2024).