US Santa Barbara announced that the Regents of the University of California filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission and lawsuits against five major retailers, Walmart, Target, Ikea, Amazon.com and Bed Bath & Beyond, for the unauthorized distribution of UC Santa Barbara’s patented filament LED lighting technology.

UC Santa Barbara and its legal counsel, Nixon Peabody, have identified that Walmart, Target, Ikea, Amazon.com and Bed Bath & Beyond as the five major retailers who represent a large cross-section of the retailers who sell filament LED light bulbs containing the unlicensed technology. UC Santa Barbara is seeking to establish licenses involving the payment of a reasonable royalty from the defendants, the amount of which will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

UC Santa Barbara aske retailers who sell filament LED light bulbs to respect the intellectual property rights of the university and to receive authorization in the form of a license in order to commercialize filament LED light bulbs.

Longford Capital, a litigation finance provider, announced that it is funding the patent enforcement campaign of UC Santa Barbara as part of the company’s University Initiative. 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.