FICPI World Congress 2022 // Financing IP Litigation for SMEs

Your SME client has spent years developing their new product or technology. You have assisted them with the time-consuming, costly process of filing a provisional patent application and then a PCT application and later with national phase entry and parallel prosecution in the EPO, USPTO, JPO and CNIPA. They are pleased with your work but have exhausted their IP budget. The resulting patents must protect their inventions for them to generate the profits they deserve.

Then comes the unexpected: a challenge to the validity of the patents, or an infringer who hopes your client will be unable to afford the cost of infringement proceedings.

This session will explore:

• Options for financial assistance to help your client enforce or defend their rights
• The pros and cons of contingency fee arrangements and litigation funders, which might make an infringement action possible but will take a substantial share of the proceeds in return 
• Litigation insurance, and FICPI’s role in possible new arrangements to help small and medium size clients enforce their IP 

Speakers will include a contingency fee lawyer, representatives of a litigation funding firm and an IP insurance firm, as well as attorneys experienced in this area. 

Why watch? At the end of this session you will have a more informed idea of which route might be right for your client to best defend or enforce their IP rights, plus greater knowledge to continue to work with your client proactively while these unexpected, but very real challenges are resolved.