In December, I noted artist Tom Forsythe's legal victory, when the 9th Circuit held that "Food Chain Barbie" was fair use. Now, the district court has fortified that ruling with a substantial award of attorneys' fees, $1.8 million, the New York Times reports.

"Plaintiff had access to sophisticated counsel who could have determined that such a suit was objectively unreasonable and frivolous," Judge Lew wrote in his order. "Instead it appears plaintiff forced defendant into costly litigation to discourage him from using Barbie's image in his artwork. This is just the sort of situation in which this court should award attorneys fees to deter this type of litigation which contravenes the intent of the Copyright Act.''

As Berkman colleague Jonathan Zittrain notes in the Times, this ruling helps avert the chilling effect of legal threats, if it causes executives and their counsel to think twice before sending groundless and unreasonable complaints.