Automotive NPE Litigation Revs Up in 2020

RPX data show that NPE patent litigation targeting the Automotive market sector has increased dramatically in 2020, rising by 150% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019.

As recently reported by RPX, a variety of NPEs have taken aim at companies operating in the Automotive sector in 2020—most recently 21st Century Garage LLC (asserting patents divested from Intellectual Ventures LLC) and Sisvel International S.A. (d/b/a Sisvel Group). So far this year, new campaigns have been launched by plaintiffs ranging from relatively recent entrants to patent monetization (e.g., Quartz Auto Technologies, LLC) to established players (e.g., Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.à.r.l.), as well as additional cases filed in existing campaigns waged by inventor-controlled Omega Patents, L.L.C. and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild. From wireless connectivity to more traditional automotive technologies, something about 2020 has drawn more litigation to the sector.

Other market sectors have also seen a significant uptick in NPE litigation in the first two quarters of 2020. Significantly, NPEs filed 333% more litigation in the Biotech and Pharma sector (though it should be noted that the sample size here is relatively small, given that NPE activity in that sector has historically been fairly minor) and 40% more in the Medical sector. Several other market sectors saw a sizeable increase during that timeframe as well, including Semiconductors (63% higher), Networking (34%), and Mobile Communications and Devices (33%), with E-Commerce and Software seeing a more modest increase of 21%.

Meanwhile, the only sectors that experienced less NPE activity were Consumer Electronics and PCs (which saw a 26% decrease) and Consumer Products (down by 17%).

See RPX’s second-quarter review for more on district court trends and other developments affecting the patent space.