Firm in Netflix Patent Dispute Disqualified From Repping Funder

A federal judge ruled that the Virginia firm Whitestone Law has a conflict barring it from working for a patent monetization firm that Netflix Inc. wants to put on the hook for attorneys’ fees.

Whitestone Law committed a “significant violation of the duty of loyalty” by representing Finnish patent owner Lauri Valjakka, then later seeking to separately represent the patent monetization firm, AiPi LLC after a rift developed between Valjakka and the funder, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said in a Thursday order.

The case started in 2021 when ...