Financial Support for Innovation Yields Big Results

When an engineer invents a new and exciting product, they want to spend their energy and effort developing, promoting, and commercializing that product. But sometimes larger, more established competitors take the advantage and offer the inventive product as their own. When this happens, Woodsford can and does step in to support smaller players from being abused by large companies with dominant market positions.

Funding Allows Vindication of Patent Rights

In 2018, Woodsford partnered with a brilliant inventor and entrepreneur who had worked tirelessly to invent an innovative new household product, and then spent years trying to popularize his product in the market. Unfortunately, this inventor was forced to compete against his own inventions when much larger companies started selling products that infringed his patents. Woodsford committed to providing enough capital for this inventor to litigate his claims with the aim of allowing him to vindicate his rights and receive the compensation he was due.

A Well-Resourced Plaintiff Means a Fair Fight

As is common in litigation against most well financed defendants, attempts were made to invalidate the patents-in-suit, both in the district court and at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Further, the defendants in litigation undertook efforts to dodge infringement by urging unfavorable claim constructions and concocting non-infringement arguments. Armed with the support of Woodsford’s capital, experience and expertise and a razor-sharp team of top litigators (paid for by Woodsford), the inventor mounted a strong offensive and defeated each of the attempts to discredit his patents.

Well-Deserved Settlements Obtained

As the litigations approached trial, it became clear that the potential damages exposure was substantial and a jury trial was imminent, especially after a highly favorable summary judgment order for the plaintiff. Ultimately, the litigations were settled prior to trial with the assistance of a mediator. The inventor received substantial compensation. The defendants went into settlement discussions in the knowledge that an expert, dispassionate, well-resourced, objective third-party had thoroughly analyzed all aspects of the claim and was prepared to make a large, non-recourse investment in it.

Without Woodsford, Infringers Lacked Accountability

Woodsford provided funds to pay for the costs of these US litigations, without any promise or guarantee of a return unless there was a successful result. Because the invested costs ran into the 7-figures over many years, without Woodsford’s non-recourse funding, redress would have been prohibitively expensive for the inventor.

Woodsford is passionate about enabling access to justice and equality of arms to those plaintiffs with a good claim. As part of our focus on ensuring that companies live up to the highest ESG standards, we will support plaintiffs in the hope that we deliver recompense for the wrongs done to them by big business. And at the same time, we will persuade these big businesses that they will no longer be able to act with impunity and that they will be held to account for their actions.