US judge orders roughly US$3.4 million in legal fees after bad-faith finding in 'Crave' copyright case

Judge Colleen McMahon of the US District Court, Southern District of New York, ordered Lynne Freeman to pay roughly US$3.4 million in legal fees to author Tracy Wolff, agent Emily Sylvan Kim and publisher Entangled. McMahon found Freeman's copyright suit over the 'Crave' series "objectively unreasonable" and brought in bad faith — a rare finding in US publishing litigation. Freeman must also post a US$150,000 bond covering appeal costs.