Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.

Summary

Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc., 586 U.S. ___ (2019), is a 2019 United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Copyright Act's award of "full costs," to a prevailing party in a copyright infringement claim is limited to taxable costs defined by the Fee Act of 1853, rejecting a broader interpretation that permitted fee awards to include litigation expenses outside the statutory schedule of costs.[1]

Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc.
Argued January 14, 2019
Decided March 4, 2019
Full case nameRimini Street, Inc., et al. v. Oracle USA, Inc., et al.
Docket no.17-1625
Citations586 U.S. ___ (more)
139 S. Ct. 873; 203 L. Ed. 2d 180; 129 U.S.P.Q.2d 1459
Case history
PriorOracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini St., Inc., 209 F. Supp. 3d 1200 (D. Nev. 2016); 879 F.3d 948, 125 U.S.P.Q.2d 1380 (9th Cir. 2018); cert. granted, 139 S. Ct. 52 (2018).
Holding
A federal district court's discretion to award "full costs" to a party in copyright litigation pursuant to 17 U. S. C. §505 is limited to the six categories specified in the general costs statute codified at 28 U. S. C. §§1821 and 1920.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinion
MajorityKavanaugh, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
Copyright Act of 1976, Fee Act of 1853

The Court cited three prior Supreme Court cases limiting awards to those specified by Congress: Crawford Fitting Co. v. J.T. Gibbons, Inc. (1987), West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey (1991), and Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy (2006).

References edit

  1. ^ Steve Brachmann, Rimini Street v. Oracle USA: Kavanaugh Frowns on Broad Interpretation of 'Full Costs' Under Copyright Act, IP Watchdog, March 4, 2019.

External links edit

  • Text of Rimini Street Inc. v. Oracle USA Inc., 586 U.S. ___ (2019) is available from: Justia  Oyez (oral argument audio)  Supreme Court (slip opinion) 
  • SCOTUSblog page
  • Steve Brachmann, Rimini Street v. Oracle USA: Kavanaugh Frowns on Broad Interpretation of 'Full Costs' Under Copyright Act, IP Watchdog, March 4, 2019