RPX Client Network Grows to 80 Companies
March 30, 2011
RPX Corporation, a provider of patent risk solutions, today announced its client network has grown to 80 member companies, representing a diverse array of technology sectors including networking, semiconductors, social gaming, and retail.
Recent clients to join include Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.; Crate & Barrel Holdings, Inc.; eBay, Inc.; F5 Networks, Inc.; Lantiq Beteiligungs- GmbH & Co. KG; QuickLogic Corporation; Rackspace Hosting, Inc.; Sonus Networks, Inc.; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.; and Zynga Inc.
ON Semiconductor also joined following an RPX-structured transaction to resolve patent infringement lawsuits brought by ON Semiconductor against RPX clients Elpida Memory Inc., Hynix Semiconductor Inc., and Nanya Technology Corp., as well as counterclaims and assertions of infringement by Elpida and Hynix against ON Semiconductor.
“RPX is well positioned to help companies equitably resolve patent disputes outside of the courts,” said Sonny Cave, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for ON Semiconductor. “In our situation, we benefited from RPX’s expertise and client relationships to help facilitate an effective resolution.”
“Increasingly, our clients are recognizing that they can use RPX’s position in the patent market to lower costs by addressing a wide variety of patent risks,” said John Amster, CEO and co-founder of RPX. “In the ON Semiconductor case, our clients trusted our patent market expertise and ability to balance their respective business objectives to design an equitable solution for all parties without the need for further litigation. Not only did we lower costs for all involved in the litigation, we also increased the network effect for all clients by adding ON Semiconductor as a member. This approach to facilitating portfolio-wide cross-licensing agreements illustrates a new offering that RPX is bringing to market in 2011.”
Patent litigation involving multiple defendants who also are industry competitors inherently escalates the uncertainties, risks and costs involved. In the ON Semiconductor litigation, the defendants individually brought counterclaims and related patent infringement suits, raising legal costs and hostility among all parties.
RPX worked with Elpida, Hynix and Nanya, already RPX clients, to reach an equitable solution with ON Semiconductor in a timely manner without further legal expense. As a result, the patent infringement lawsuits were resolved and, in addition, bilateral, portfolio-wide cross-licensing agreements were made between ON Semiconductor and each of these RPX clients.
“RPX has already provided strategic value in helping us mitigate the risk and cost of patent litigation from non-practicing entities. Now they have demonstrated new value with an innovative and business-oriented solution in the ON Semiconductor case that could not have been achieved through the court system,” said Dr. Pei Lin Pai, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Spokesman for Nanya Technology Corp. USA.
All three defendants in the ON Semiconductor lawsuits agreed that they reached an agreement that could have taken longer to resolve and incurred several millions of dollars in attorneys’ fees and other costs without RPX’s assistance.