Unified Patents submitted a letter to the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules on October 5, 2026. We urged the Advisory Committee to implement a uniform rule requiring disclosure of nonparty litigation funding arrangements and recommended it adopt the proposal currently pending from the Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) and the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The proposed amendments to the rule (Fed. R. Civ. P. 26) and comments regarding the same will be discussed at the committee meeting coming up on October 21.
Patent litigation presents a particularly compelling case for such a rule: the “access to justice” rationale sometimes invoked to justify nonparty litigation funder secrecy does not apply to an arms-length litigation practice built on non-practicing assertion vehicles. The prevalence of funding in patent litigation (1 in 4 patent cases are funded) and Judge Connolly's findings during the IP Edge case show what undisclosed TPLF control looks like and how easily it evades existing rules. A clear, uniform disclosure requirement would give courts, defendants, and the public the information they need to evaluate these cases on their merits.
Download the full letter HERE.