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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND, NORTHERN DIVISION * LOWRY'S REPORTS, INC., Plaintiff, v. LEGG MASON, INC., et al., * Defendants. * * * * * * * * * CIVIL ACTION NO: WDQ-01-3898 * * * * * * * * *

MEMORANDUM OPINION Pending are Defendants Legg Mason, Inc. and Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. (collectively "Legg Mason")'s Motion for a New Trial and Judgment as a Matter of Law and Plaintiff Lowry's Reports, Inc.'s ("Lowry's") Motion for Attorneys' Fees. For the following

reasons, those motions will be denied; Lowry's Motion for a Permanent Injunction will be granted.

I.

Background

The facts of this case are discussed in Lowry's Reports, Inc. v. Legg Mason, Inc., 271 F. Supp. 2d 737 (D. Md. 2003). In brief,

Lowry's accused Legg Mason of using Lowry's New York Stock Exchange Market Trend Analysis ("the Reports") in a manner that infringed its copyrights and breach of contract. On October 3, 2003, a jury

found Legg Mason liable to Lowry's for breach of contract and wilful damages. copyright infringement and awarded $19,725,270.00 in

II.

Motion for a New Trial and Judgment as a Matter of Law

Legg Mason has moved for a new trial arguing that the awards in this case were excessive, based on erroneous jury instructions, and contrary to the evidence. A. Statutory Damages and Jury Finding of Wilful Infringement 1. Deference. Legg Mason argues that the jury verdict in this case was excessive and cannot stand. Legg Mason's Memorandum of Law in Jury Awards Under the Copyright Act are Entitled to

Support of Its Motion for New Trial and Judgment as a Matter of Law ("New Trial Mot.") at 2-3. Legg Mason argues that the actual harm

in this case is limited to $59,000 and that the $19 million dollar verdict is so disproportionate that it violates due process. Trial Mot. at 3.1 Congress' exercise of its Constitutional authority to regulate copyrights is entitled to substantial deference. Eldred v. New

Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186, 222 (2003)("[T]he Copyright Clause empowers Congress to determine the intellectual property regimes that, overall, in that body's judgment, will serve the ends of the Clause. . . [and] [t]he wisdom of Congress' action . . . is not within [the Supreme Court's] province to second guess").
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Lowry's places its actual damages at $6.8 million. Plaintiff Lowry's Opposition to Legg Mason's Motion for Judgment as Matter of Law ("New Trial Opp.") at 27. -2-

U.S.C.

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