Opinion ID: 6971727
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Visnews’s Contributory Infringement by Providing EBU a Copy of the Works

Text: Defendants also argue that the statutory penalties must be reduced by one-half because the district court erred in ruling that Visnews is liable for contributory infringement with respect to the copies made by EBU of the works Visnews transmitted to it. The district court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that defendants waived this issue, not having raised it until closing argument. Moreover, each side submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law that calculated statutory damages on the basis of all four infringements. We will not take up an issue not properly raised below unless necessary to prevent manifest injustice. International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsman Local Union No. 20 v. Martin Jaska, Inc., 752 F.2d 1401, 1404 (9th Cir.1985). Because defendants have failed to show exceptional circumstances explaining their default, see id., we need not address the issue. IV. DENIAL OF ATTORNEY FEES The district court denied the applications for attorney’s fees, concluding that. “both parties prevailed on significant issues in the ease and thus neither can be viewed to be the prevailing party.” (Emphasis in the original.) Because we reverse the district court’s ruling on extraterritorial damages and remand for a trial on actual damages, we must vacate the attorney’s fees order without prejudice, of course, to further proceedings following trial. LANS requests attorney’s fees on appeal pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 505. We conclude that fees are warranted inasmuch as it served the purposes of the Copyright Act for LANS to establish its right to extraterritorial damages and to defend its favorable ruling below on fair use. Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 94 F.3d 553, 561 (9th Cir.1996). We award LANS its costs and attorney’s fees on appeal, the amount to be determined by the district court on remand.