GPL compliance suit against VMware dismissed

It's capped, yes; the winning party can only claim those costs that were “necessary”, not inflate the amount at will. Still, the costs can quickly get quite high (by the standards of a private individual or a small non-profit organization); in addition to the lawyers’ and the court’s fees, there are travel expenses, payment for the expert witness(es) who will be needed, etc. It is also safe to assume the case will proceed to the Federal Court of Justice in the end, and each of the three levels will of course add to the total cost.