[johndhi]

this isn't that far off from how some european systems work.

for example, in the UK[0], if you lose a lawsuit, you have to pay not only your attorney's fees, but the other party's attorneys fees. It gets very expensive. As a result, some percentage of valid claims are not filed because the losing party cannot bear the risk of losing.

0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_rule_(attorney%27s_fee...

[jacquesm]

Fortunately those fees are capped at something reasonable and rarely approach the actual costs. Still, it is a risk that you probably shouldn't take for a hobby project, it's all downside and very little upside.