Office Depot Eyes $2 Million in Attorney Fees After Beating Copyright Claim.

[jim]

Office supplies retailer Office Depot is seeking more than $2 million in attorneys’ fees after defeating a copyright infringement suit by data analysis company Infogroup. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in West Palm Beach, Florida, dismissed Infogroup’s lawsuit in June, rejecting the data company’s claim that Office Depot misused propriety data as the retailer mapped out where it should open new stores.

Cannon found that the licensing agreement Infogroup and Office Depot signed did not restrict how Office Depot could use Infogroup’s data. There were several twists in the case en route to that dismissal. The 2020 lawsuit was first filed in federal court in Nebraska before it was transferred to Florida; Infogroup changed its name to Data Axle; and some of Office Depot’s lawyers left DLA Piper for Hogan Lovells.

Office Depot told Cannon on Monday that its lawyers, including Husch Blackwell in addition to DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells, are entitled to more than $2 million in attorney fees and costs under the Copyright Act, which permits “prevailing parties” to recoup fees from the losing side. Damon Lewis, a Hogan Lovells partner who served as Office Depot’s lead counsel in this case, said in Monday’s filing that the $2 million request is reasonable and justified.

[Author]

September 11, 2023 at 3:23 PM