Last week Cowen & Co. released a note on Limelight Networks (LLNW), a recent IPO in the content delivery industry, quoting UCLA law professor and patent expert Doug Lichtman. Lichtman said he thought there was an 80% to 85% chance that Limelight would lose its patent battle with rival Akamai (AKAM).

The next day, the court hearing the IP dispute issued a ruling saying that Akamai could not patent the way that files are deliverd over the internet, according to industry publication Light Reading. 

On Friday, after the ruling Limelight’s stock moved from $15.30 to $20.23.

The whole matter raises the question of whether a research firm should ever issue an opinion based on a conversation with one "expert".

In this case, it did not work out well for Cowen, and, perhaps, some of its customers.

Douglas A. McIntyre