Cite as: 510 U. S. 517 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
(1917), for an explanation of the "discretionary awarding of attorney's fees":
" 'The amount of money frequently involved in copyright letigation [sic], especially on the part of the defendant is trifling. The expense of any letigation [sic] is considerable. Unless, therefore, some provision is made for financial protection to a litigant, if successful, it may not pay a party to defend rights, even if valid, a situation opposed to justice . . . . It is increasingly recognized that the person who forces another to engage counsel to vindicate, or defend, a right should bear the expense of such engagement and not his successful opponent . . . .' " Strauss Study 31.
The study then notes that the pending bills contemplate no change in the attorney's fees provision and concludes with the simple statement "[t]he cases indicate that this discretion has been judiciously exercised by the courts." Ibid.14 This
14 In a footnote, the Strauss Study lists several cases exemplifying the courts' use of discretion. None of these cases explicitly require a dual standard of awarding attorney's fees, but instead offer various reasons for awarding or not awarding attorney's fees to the prevailing party. Cases cited by the study involving prevailing defendants: Overman v. Loesser, 205 F. 2d 521, 524 (CA9 1953) (denying counsel fees because there was "no indication that the appeal was pursued in bad faith" and "the principal question [was] a complex question of law"); Official Aviation Guide Co. v. American Aviation Associates, 162 F. 2d 541, 543 (CA7 1947) (denying attorney's fee where "[t]he instant case was hard fought and prosecuted in good faith, and . . . presented a complex problem in law"); Rosen v. Lowe's Inc., 162 F. 2d 785 (CA2 1947) (defendant prevailed; no discussion of attorney's fees); Advertisers Exchange, Inc. v. Anderson, 144 F. 2d 907 (CA8 1944) (denying attorney's fee without comment in case involving defective copyright notice); Lewys v. O'Neill, 49 F. 2d 603, 618 (SDNY 1931) (awarding fees where plaintiff's case was "wholly synthetic"); Metro Associated Services, Inc. v. Webster City Graphic, Inc., 117 F. Supp. 224 (ND Iowa 1953) (denying attorney's fee without explanation where plaintiff filed defective copyright); Lowenfels v. Nathan, 2 F. Supp. 73, 80 (SDNY 1932) (awarding fees where "[t]he most earnest advocate of the plaintiff's side . . . could not . . . possibly find" any plagiarism by the defendant);
529
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