Belanger said it took him 2 1/2 years to find lawyers who would take the case on a contingency basis - meaning they only get paid if they win. On Tuesday, those lawyers filed suit against Google in US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, a venue that specializes in patent cases.

According to the research firm LegalMetric, patent plaintiffs who sue in Marshall win 78 percent of the time. In addition, said Jay Sandvos, partner at Bromberg & Sunstein, an intellectual property law firm in Boston, the Texas court tends to issue higher-than-average financial awards to victorious plaintiffs. "If you're going to take on a contingency case, you want to feel you're going to get a big payoff," said Sandvos. "The Eastern District of Texas tends to be friendly that way."