Payment Clash Reveals Litigation Funding Link to 100-Plus Cases

On paper, a nondescript Delaware corporation, an icebox maker, and a Finnish businessman appeared to have little in common beyond their Houston lawyer: Bill Ramey, one of the busiest plaintiff-side patent attorneys in the country.

But when Ramey began withdrawing from dozens of cases for nonpayment, a similarity emerged: they were all part of a cluster of patent owners connected to a monetization company called AiPi Inc.

Litigation funders often play a significant role in intellectual property cases, securing money for plaintiffs to bring lawsuits or buying up patents to assert against possible infringers. But at times they operate ...