Opinion ID: 3052173
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the district court may have erred in awarding

Text: ANDREW $296,090.50 IN ATTORNEYS’ FEES. [9] Poof also challenges the district court’s award of attorneys’ fees. First, Poof argues that, in addition to precluding recovery of statutory damages, Andrew’s failure to timely register its copyrights precludes it from recovering attorneys’ fees. As noted above, 17 U.S.C. § 412(2) of the Copyright Act precludes an award of attorneys’ fees if the copyrighted work 6670 DEREK ANDREW v. POOF APPAREL CORP. is not registered prior to the commencement of the infringement, unless the registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work. Because infringement commenced prior to the June 15, 2005, registration date, Andrew is not entitled to its attorneys’ fees to the extent that they are based upon a violation of the Copyright Act. [10] Second, Poof challenges the propriety of attorneys’ fees under the Lanham Act. An award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs is expressly provided for in “exceptional cases” of trademark infringement. See 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). “While the term ‘exceptional’ is not defined in the statute, attorneys’ fees are available in infringement cases where the acts of infringement can be characterized as malicious, fraudulent, deliberate, or willful.” Rio Props., Inc. v. Rio Int’l Interlink, 284 F.3d 1007, 1023 (9th Cir. 2002). Poof argues that, “while the Magistrate Judge acknowl- edged Poof Apparel’s default occurred in a complaint that pled wilfulness, the court made no specific finding that the infringement . . . was ‘malicious, fraudulent, deliberate or willful.’ ” Not only is this argument factually inaccurate—the district court determined that Poof wilfully infringed Andrew’s trademarks—but, more importantly, it is expressly foreclosed by our holding in Rio Properties, Inc. [11] In Rio Properties, Inc., we upheld an award of attorneys’ fees under the Lanham Act solely because, “by entry of default judgment, the district court determined, as alleged in RIO’s complaint, that RII’s acts were committed knowingly, maliciously, and oppressively, and with an intent to . . . injure RIO.” 284 F.3d at 1023 (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also TeleVideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915, 917-18 (9th Cir. 1987) (“The general rule of law is that upon default the factual allegations of the complaint, except those relating to the amount of damages, will be taken as true.” (internal quotation marks omitted)). The case before us is indistinguishable. DEREK ANDREW v. POOF APPAREL CORP. 6671 [12] The district court entered default and Poof concedes that its default occurred with respect to a complaint that pled wilfulness. Thus, all factual allegations in the complaint are deemed true, including the allegation of Poof’s willful infringement of Andrew’s trademarks. This default sufficiently establishes Andrew’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees under the Lanham Act. Because Poof does not contest the amount of fees, the district court’s award of fees under the Lanham Act is affirmed. [13] Nevertheless, REMAND is proper because it is unclear whether the district court’s award of fees may have included fees related to Andrew’s Copyright Act claim. On remand, the district court must recalculate the fees award taking into account that Poof prevails as a matter of law on Andrew’s Copyright Act claim.