Date:
March 31, 2011
Until recently, institutional financing alternatives for patent disputes between competitors have been largely unknown. A new set of players has emerged, however, that may have a significant impact on how patent litigation is paid for, as well as on high-stakes commercial litigation generally. These “litigation venture capital firms” have been launched with the express purpose of making direct investments in commercial litigation. While this is a nascent industry, to say the least, and bound to change rapidly; for companies confronting the cost of major litigation, under the right circumstances litigation venture capital firms may offer a viable solution.