Our Firm recently represented an IP owner who alleged that goods sold
by defendant infringed its rights. A complaint was
filed in federal court. The matter was ultimately settled on
favorable terms.
A matter such as this is amendable to being handled on a ‘hybrid’ billing basis. In such an
arrangement, representation is on a contingent recovery basis,
however the initial work is billed on an attorney/time basis. After
a billing threshold is reached, the parties can then re-negotiate the
billing arrangement (typically at a point by which discovery has
begun, and therefore the parties have more information on which to
base decisions as to the likelihood and scope of a financial recovery).
The advantage to a client of such an arrangement is that it can
control its litigation expenses while exploring the strength of its
claim. The advantage to the outside firm is that it can moderate the
risk involved in undertaking a contingent fee arrangement.
If you are an IP Owner and have questions regarding such arrangements, please contact us.