After losing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) case earlier this fall, Connecticut-based Yout LLC is now under scrutiny by defendant Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) for failing to timely respond to its motion for the attorneys’ fees in Yout’s “objectively unreasonable lawsuit.” In a filing submitted last week, RIAA said the court should deny Yout’s motion to stay the case and grant RIAA’s attorneys’ fee request.
The September decision from the District of Connecticut found that Yout’s software, which permits subscribers to download local copies of audio, video, and combination files from major streaming websites like YouTube, was illegal under the DMCA. The court concluded that Yout circumvented a Google security measure in order to provide subscribers with scalped content.
Since then, RIAA’s counsel reached out to Yout’s counsel to discuss RIAA’s fee motion and a potential resolution, but without success.
On the day that Yout’s deadline to respond to RIAA’s attorney fee request was due, Yout requested an extension which RIAA consented to. However, Yout never filed an opposition to RIAA’s motion for attorneys’ fees by the agreed-upon extended deadline. Instead, Yout filed a motion to stay the case pending its appeal to the Second Circuit.
“Given that the reach of this Court’s holding in this matter goes far beyond just this one small business software provider, it is in the public interest that the Second Circuit reviews the merits on appeal. This important and necessary review will be crippled if the instant matter concerning attorneys’ fees is not stayed,” Yout wrote.
RIAA claims the request is improper on several grounds, including that Yout has now waived its right to contest the attorneys’ fee request. Further, the motion contends that Yout’s appeal provides no basis for a stay as courts regularly decide attorneys’ fee issues while an appeal is pending for efficiency’s sake. Lastly, RIAA argues Yout is not entitled to a stay because it has not shown the likelihood of success of its appeal or irreparable harm.
On the other hand, RIAA claims it would be injured by a stay, claiming it has already paid in excess of $250,000 in attorneys’ fees to defend against the meritless suit. “While Yout has not submitted any evidence of its financial condition, if its statements are to be believed, it may face difficulty paying a fee award. That is not reason to delay issuing such an award,” the filing notes.
Yout is represented by Mudd Law and RIAA by Munger Tolles & Olson LLP and Wiggin and Dana LLP.
