Q3 2021: Another Busy Third Quarter for NPEs as IP Edge Keeps Up the Pace
October 13, 2021
NPEs added 595 defendants to litigation campaigns in Q3 2021, generally in line with the first two quarters of the year. Third-quarter NPE activity was up by 18.1% compared to a below-trend third quarter last year, which may have been impacted by growing backlogs in district courts due to the pandemic. Notably, NPEs had their busiest third quarter since 2016, exceeding the 2018-2020 average by 24.3%.
Year-to-date, NPEs have added 1,786 defendants, a 10.9% increase over the same period in 2020.
| Defendants Added | Change Compared to: | ||||
| Q3 2021 | Q3 2020 | Q3 2018-2020 Average | Q2 2021 | ||
| NPE | 595 | 18.1% | 24.3% | -1.2% | |
| Operating Company | 287 | 9.5% | 1.5% | -16.3% | |
| Total | 882 | 15.1% | 15.8% | -6.7% | |
Patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC, in particular, added 155 defendants in Q3, for a total of 462 defendants so far this year—up 16.7% compared to the first three quarters of 2020. IP Edge has maintained a consistent monthly pace of about 50 defendants added per month, putting it on track to hit just over 600 defendants added for the year.
Excluding IP Edge, NPEs added 440 defendants in Q3, for a YTD total of 1,324 defendants added—a still-significant increase of 9.2%. Q3 was the third straight quarter in which NPEs (minus IP Edge) added more than 400 defendants, which has not happened since 2017.
In total (with no NPE plaintiffs excluded), 882 defendants were added to patent litigation campaigns in Q3 2021, or 15.1% more than the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter filings beat the three-quarter trailing average by 15.8% but were 6.7% lower than in the second quarter of this year.
See RPX’s third-quarter review for more on this and other trends impacting patent litigation and the patent marketplace.
