Longford Capital Funds Patent Enforcement Campaign for University of California, Santa Barbara
CHICAGO, July 30, 2019 - Longford Capital, one of the largest providers of litigation finance in the world, is proud to announce that it is funding a patent enforcement campaign for University of California, Santa Barbara (“UC Santa Barbara”) related to UC Santa Barbara’s groundbreaking filament LED technology. This technology is the result of cutting-edge techniques developed by a Nobel laureate-led team at UC Santa Barbara for making LEDs that require less energy, create less heat, and distribute light in all directions. The patented technology replaces traditional incandescent light bulbs, while using a fraction of the energy and lasting several times longer. Major retailers of LED light bulbs have been profiting from unauthorized sales of UC Santa Barbara’s patented technology since filament LED light bulbs became available around 2014. The market has grown rapidly to more than $1,000,000,000 in sales projected for 2019.
Longford Capital will fund the attorneys’ fees and expenses related to UC Santa Barbara’s enforcement campaign in exchange for an agreed-upon portion of the proceeds generated from the campaign. This is a non-recourse investment, meaning that Longford Capital is only compensated if the campaign is successful. Longford Capital’s commitment to UC Santa Barbara is part of Longford Capital’s University Initiative, which provides financial assistance to Universities to help them realize the full value of their research and development activities, without burdening their budgets.
Working with Longford Capital enables UC Santa Barbara, a public institution that relies on the support of taxpayers, student tuition and contributions from donors, to protect its valuable intellectual property rights without utilizing university funds. The proceeds generated from this enforcement campaign will help fund future research, education, and development of cutting-edge technologies and new scientific insights that will benefit the public.
“America’s universities are the backbone of innovation and economic growth in the United States,” said Michael A. Nicolas, co-founder and Managing Director of Longford Capital. “UC Santa Barbara is recognized worldwide for its scholars and for excellence across broad fields of study, including solid state lighting and power switching. The technology at the heart of this enforcement campaign has fundamentally improved lighting technology in ways that conserve energy and increase efficiency. Simply put, UC Santa Barbara reinvented the lightbulb. We are proud to support UC Santa Barbara’s efforts to protect its valuable intellectual property rights and generate revenue that will be used to fund future technological breakthroughs,” said Michael.
About Longford Capital
Longford Capital is a leader in the commercial litigation finance industry, and is one of the largest managers in the asset class in the world, with more than $550 million in assets under management. Longford invests in business-to-business disputes, providing non-recourse capital solutions to law firms, public and private businesses, universities, government agencies, and other entities with $25 million to more than $2 billion in controversy. Longford Capital’s team of former partners from national law firms possesses the experience and relationships necessary to identify and invest in what it believes to be the strongest cases. The firm manages a diverse portfolio of investments in four broad substantive legal areas, including commercial disputes, antitrust and trade regulation claims, intellectual property claims, and international arbitration matters.