A&O notched up fees totalling £5.18m representing Research in Motion (RIM) in its patent dispute with
Handing down judgment yesterday (17 April), Mr Justice Floyd refused to grant RIM – which won the case – its full costs, which he denounced as “unnecessary”, with two A&O associates racking up more than 4,500 billable hours, worth almost £2m, over a 15-month period.
Trainees and paralegals were responsible for a further £1m in costs on the case, which was overseen for the magic circle law firm by intellectual property partner Nicola Dagg.
Floyd said: “For these sums of money, one would be entitled to expect each of them to be able to recite all the documents in the case by heart.”
Taylor Wessing’s fees totalled £1.6m, with Floyd ordering that Visto pay two-thirds of RIM’s costs.
The news comes amid widespread concern over the cost of litigation in the
An A&O spokesperson said: “Allen & Overy secured an outright win for RIM on the issues before the court at trial. We were asked by our client to vigorously defend them in this case and leave no reasonable stone unturned in finding evidence to prove the invalidity of Visto’s patent.”
They continued: “The reality is that the legal costs were a tiny fraction of the value of RIM’s business, which was put at risk through this litigation. A&O's efforts also benefited RIM and the industry by removing Visto’s ability to pursue disproportionate financial gain from the patent.”
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