Sanctions Battle Gives Insight Into Requested Rates.
RealNetworks and DVD Copy Control Association (a nonprofit organization composed of certain entertainment studios) are engaged in federal litigation over RealNetworks’ software product that DVD Copy alleges to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because it circumvents the content-scramble system license granted to RealNetworks by DVD Copy. The federal litigation is pending in the Northern District of California federal court and is being presided over by District Judge Marilyn Patel, who has previously blocked distribution of the software pending a full merits determination.
Recently, DVD Copy won a sanctions order by which District Judge Patel found that RealNetworks had failed to retain important engineer notebooks, leading to a spoliation sanctions. In connection with this proceeding, DVD Copy’s attorneys have submitted hourly fee information for the fees associated with the spoliation battle. The hourly fee requests break down like this: $490/hour for a 7-year licensed San Francisco attorney; $703.80/hour for a 22-year licensed Los Angeles attorney; and $765/hour for a 40-year licensed San Francisco attorney.
For more detail on this story and a link to the declaration requesting sanctions that was filed in court, see David Kravets’ article “Lawyers in DVD Copying Case Charge Up to $765 Hourly,” posted June 16, 2009.