Patent Litigation Held Steady in Q1 2026
NPEs added 495 defendants to patent litigation campaigns in Q1 2026, a decrease of 18% compared to Q1 2025 (when NPEs added 604 defendants). NPE litigation in the first quarter of 2026 exceeded the trailing Q1 average for 2023-2025 by 10% but was 6% lower than in the fourth quarter.
In contrast, operating company plaintiffs added 329 defendants this past quarter, a 35% increase from Q1 2025. Litigation by operating companies beat the trailing Q1 2023-2025 average by 33% but was also 5% lower than in Q4.
| Defendants Added | Change Compared to: | ||||
| Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Q1 2023-2025 Average | Q4 2025 | ||
| NPE | 495 | -18% | 10% | -6% | |
| Operating Company | 329 | 35% | 33% | -5% | |
| Total | 824 | -3% | 18% | -5% | |
Overall, patent plaintiffs added 824 defendants in the first quarter of 2026, or 3% less than in Q1 2025 and 5% less than Q4 2025, also beating the trailing average by 18%.
See RPX’s first-quarter review for more on district court filings in Q1 2026, as well as other key trends that shaped patent litigation last quarter.
