Fantasy sued Fogerty for copyright infringement, claiming that "The Old Man Down the Road" was essentially the music to "Run Through the Jungle" with new words.

Rehnquist observed that the 1976 Copyright Act provides that the district courts may award "a reasonable attorney's fee" to the "prevailing party", but does not set forth the criteria to be used in deciding whether or not to do so.

The differential standard for fee awards in Title VII, Rehnquist wrote, is based upon Congress's decision to treat civil rights plaintiffs as "private attorneys general" to help enforce the statutory scheme.

The primary objective of the Copyright Act is to "encourage the production of original literary, artistic, and musical expression for the good of the public."

It is one goal, but it is not the only one, nor even the most important: Creative work is to be encouraged and rewarded, but private motivation must ultimately serve the cause of promoting broad public availability of literature, music, and the other arts.

However, the fact that district courts have discretion to award attorneys' fees in copyright cases does not mean that they should do so automatically or routinely.

The Copyright Act authorizes an exception to the general rule, but it provides that the prevailing party "may" be awarded attorneys' fees, not that it must be.