Firm's $1.3m Bill After Suing Google Customers

A patent-holding firm has been hit with a seven-figure legal bill after attempting to sue several of Google's customers.

A US district court has ruled that Beneficial Innovations has to cover Google's $1.3m (£780,000) legal fees after it lost a jury case earlier this year.

Beneficial Innovations had attempted to sue several customers of Google's DoubleClick advertising service, alleging that its patents had been infringed.

But Google argued that the company had acted in violation of a licensing deal signed with Google in 2010.

Google successful persuaded a judge in January that the agreement would shield customers from litigation - meaning Beneficial Innovations' lawsuits against its customers had violated the deal.

At first, it looked like Google's victory was a hollow one - with damages awarded of just one dollar.

But a legal bill of $1.4m (£840,000) - rounded down by the court to $1.3m - means the search giant has set a precedent against companies which regularly file patent infringement claims against other firms hoping for an out-of-court settlement.

Beneficial Innovations has been suing over patents related to online gaming and advertising since 2006.