Moonbug Entertainment Limited v. Babybus Network Technology Co., Ltd

Background

Moonbug Entertainment Limited and Treasure Studio, Inc. sued Babbu Co., Ltd. and BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd. over alleged copyright infringement involving the animated children’s show CoComelon, including specific works and characters, and alleged misrepresentation. After a 10-day trial, the jury found BabyBus liable for copyright infringement and misrepresentation and awarded $17,718,114 in actual damages and lost profits. The court entered judgment, issued a permanent injunction, sanctioned BabyBus for misrepresenting evidence at trial, and later denied BabyBus’s post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law and a new trial.

Attorney Fees and Costs

The court held that Moonbug was entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees for the copyright-infringement claim under 17 U.S.C. § 505 and for the copyright-misrepresentation claim under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). It also awarded fees for work required to prove matters that BabyBus had denied in requests for admission, and fees and expert costs caused by BabyBus’s fabrication of evidence concerning its independent-development defense.

The court found that BabyBus’s overall copyright defense was not objectively unreasonable because some copyright issues were legally complex. But it found objectively unreasonable BabyBus’s initial denial of copying for works it later conceded were directly copied, its lack of evidence supporting the independent-development defense, and its fabrication of evidence. The court denied Moonbug’s request for a 1.18 multiplier for sanctions because the lodestar calculation already included fees related to the sanctions issue and the requested multiplier was unsupported.

Using the lodestar method, the court granted $5,972,559.85 in total attorney fees, including $5,963,684.85 in attorney fees and $8,875 in expert-witness fees related to the sanctions motion. It granted $510,008.72 in costs and $174,922 in additional attorney fees for post-judgment and related work. The total award of attorney fees and costs was $6,657,490.57. The conclusion states that the attorney-fee motion was granted in part and denied in part.

Pre-Judgment Interest

The court held that pre-judgment interest was available under the Copyright Act and would compensate Moonbug for the time it was deprived of lost profits and prevent BabyBus from being unjustly enriched. It rejected BabyBus’s arguments that the damages award already provided full compensation and that Moonbug’s delay in pursuing the claim barred interest.

The court granted pre-judgment interest for the period from August 24, 2021, the filing date identified in the order, through October 30, 2023, the date final judgment was entered. It directed the parties to calculate an average interest rate based on the 52-week Treasury bill rate during that period and apply it to the $17,718,114 jury award. The court required the parties to meet and confer and submit their calculation within 30 days. The conclusion states that the pre-judgment-interest motion was granted in part and denied in part, with the amount left to the parties’ submitted calculation.

Payment Assignment

Moonbug asked the court to assign to it BabyBus’s rights to payments from third-party entities and to restrain BabyBus from interfering with those assignments. The court denied the motion because it found the request premature while BabyBus’s appeal and request for a stay of judgment were pending. The court stated that Moonbug could seek further relief after the appeal had been effected and related stay motions had been filed.

Disposition

The court granted in part and denied in part the motion for attorney fees, awarding total attorney fees and costs of $6,657,490.57. It granted in part and denied in part the motion to amend the judgment to include pre-judgment interest, with the amount to be calculated and submitted by the parties. It denied the motion for assignment of payment rights.