Base Award Against Prevailing Plaintiffs Was $648,543.00.
The Ninth Circuit in Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, Ltd. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc., Case No. 12-17502 (9th Cir. Feb. 20, 2015) (published) affirmed, in a 2-1 decision, the merits of compensatory/lost profit awards against five defendants in a Lanham Act false endorsement suit brought by two plaintiffs involving use of Bob Marley’s image on defendants’ t-shirt and other merchandise. The district judge also found that the case was “exceptional” based on three defendants’ willful conduct so as to justify a fee award against these defendants of $1,518,687.94 based on 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a).
Although one justice dissented on aspects of the judgment below, the majority affirmed the merits and fee orders. With respect to fees, the Ninth Circuit found that plaintiffs had prevailed and the three defendants’ conduct was willful, including such activity as backdating a prior license agreement. Willful, not egregious, conduct satisfies the Lanham Act fee-shifting provision.