David V. Goliath

Before you rush off to find a law firm willing to take your case on a contingent fee basis, make sure you have a case worth pursuing. "Contingent fee litigation weeds out frivolous lawsuits, because a case has to be good enough for a law firm to take, since they heavily invest their manpower on it," says Meg Boulware of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Take a look at attorney Joe Hosteny's checklist to see whether you have a "winnable" contingent fee case:

• The infringing party has used your product for a long time, and intends to use it in the future.

• The infringing party has the ability to pay damages.

• Your patent and its file history show no obvious problems.

• The subject matter is fairly simple, and therefore easy to explain to a jury.

For more information, go to Hosteny's Web site at http://www.hosteny.com.

This article was originally published in the November 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: David V. Goliath.