SAN FRANCISCO — Kobre & Kim is moving forward with what could be a groundbreaking international lawsuit alleging systemic overcharging of patent renewal fees by a company called CPA Global, after securing a financing deal with Bentham IMF to defray the risks of a loss.

Michael Ng, an attorney at Kobre & Kim in San Francisco, will be the U.S. lead for the planned lawsuit. Ng said Friday the firm is completing its investigation and plans to file “in relatively short order” a collective action in Jersey, the British Channel island where CPA Global is based.

The company, meanwhile, is rejecting accusations of overcharging its customers. “CPA Global categorically and emphatically denies any wrongdoing in our business,” Claire Barker, the company's senior vice president of global affairs, said in a statement. “The fees for our service are defined in our agreements with our customers, and we adhere to those agreements fully.”