Very informative article re contingency cases.

A growing number of law firms are willing to share the risk of patent litigation by taking cases on a contingency fee basis.

Although these may represent only a tiny fraction of cases, more firms are trying to formulate alternative fees in patent suits.

It is a trend, and I think we'll see more of it, said Bruce Sunstein, who chairs the patent practice group at Bromberg & Sunstein in Boston.

The number of patent cases has exploded recently, doubling over the past decade, especially in the software and pharmaceutical fields, fueled by huge verdicts like the $600 million BlackBerry case.

But patent litigation can be expensive and risky, preventing many companies from asserting their claims.

An average patent case will cost between $3 million and $10 million, and take two to three years to litigate.

Individual patent holders and small companies with no other assets than their patent portfolios normally wouldn't stand a chance against Microsoft or other giants.

But contingent fee arrangements can allow smaller companies to stay in the ring longer against an opponent, said James Foster, a senior patent litigator at Wolf Greenfield in Boston.

A lot of companies can't afford to pay $2 million chasing a recovery they may not get. The really big companies can pay the full freight [of hourly fees], but companies that are not quite as well- financed might find [contingent fees] attractive, he said