Cox Opposes DMCA Litigation Fee Award to BMG

BMG just won't accept the Supreme Court's standard that the objective reasonableness of the losing party's defense is key for deciding whether a fee award is appropriate, Cox Communications said in a reply (in Pacer) Friday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It said its litigating positions against BMG's "novel expansion of secondary liability" were objectively reasonable, so the district court abused its discretion imposing an $8 million fee award atop the $25 million verdict. Cox said Round Hill's seeking of fees "makes no sense" since it was dismissed with prejudice on summary judgment for lack of statutory standing. Counsel for BMG and Round Hill didn't comment Monday. They previously argued Cox's "sham" defense drove up litigation costs (see 1707310018). Cox is fighting BMG's award of nearly $8.4 million in attorney's fees and expenses atop the Digital Millennium Copyright Act verdict against the cable ISP (see 1702170043).