After devoting roughly three years and a couple million dollars to a lawsuit, a small fitness equipment maker has been awarded close to $7 million in damages. Despite the favorable ruling, the company's general counsel maintains that, in light of the risks for the company and its in-house lawyer, “litigation is the last resort.”

Litigating is expensive and unpredictable, the GC said, and if it doesn't go your way, company executives will want an explanation. In certain cases, though, it's a business necessity.

Fitness Anywhere, known as TRX, filed suit against competitor WOSS Enterprises in 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, alleging patent and trademark infringement, among other claims. Three years later, on March 22, a California federal jury awarded the makers of TRX fitness and training equipment around $6.8 million after finding willful patent and trademark infringement. A hearing on post-verdict matters is scheduled for June 15 to likely finalize the verdict.