A company that tried to defend itself against a copyright infringement claim found that failing to take legal advice early in the proceedings cost it dear.

When the infringement came to light, the company refused offers of mediation and made a very small offer to settle the claim. It also put forward arguments that were not legally valid in its defence and did not take legal advice until the case was about to go to court, nearly a year later.

As soon as the infringing company appointed a firm of solicitors to act on its behalf, the case was settled promptly out of court at a figure ten times the original offer.

However, the bad news did not end there. Because of the difficulties in dealing with an unrepresented defendant, the claimant’s legal costs were much higher than expected and more than double the amount of the claim: these, too, fell to be paid by the defendant.

This case shows how important it is to obtain legal representation early when a dispute arises. Failing to understand the applicable law can mean that the wrong principles are applied and attempts to resolve the dispute will founder. In this case, the total payable by the company is approximately three times the sum that it would have cost to settle the matter out of court at an early stage.