NPE Litigation in 2022 YTD Matches Prior-Year Period Despite Q3 Decline
October 12, 2022
So far this year, NPEs have added 1,774 defendants through September, meaning that filing levels are essentially unchanged compared to the same timespan in 2021 (during which NPEs added 1,783 defendants).
In the third quarter of 2022, NPEs added 575 defendants to patent litigation campaigns, which was 15% lower than the prior quarter and 4% lower than Q3 2021, but which still exceeded the corresponding 2019-2021 average by 9%.
Complaints filed by prolific monetization firm IP Edge LLC held steady once again, accounting for about 25% of all NPE campaign defendants added in Q1-Q3 2022.
| Defendants Added | Change Compared to: | ||||
| Q3 2022 | Q3 2021 | Q3 2019-2021 Average | Q2 2022 | ||
| NPE | 575 | -4% | 9% | -15% | |
| Operating Company | 248 | -7% | -6% | -5% | |
| Total | 823 | -5% | 4% | -12% | |
Overall, 823 defendants were added to patent litigation campaigns in Q3 2022—4% higher than the trailing Q3 average, but 12% less than Q2 2022 and 5% less than the year-ago quarter. The year-to-date total is 2,550 defendants added, or roughly 3% less than that same period in 2021.
See RPX’s third-quarter review for more on trends impacting patent litigation and the patent marketplace.
