Patent Litigation Dipped Slightly in Q2 2026
NPEs added 548 defendants to patent litigation campaigns in Q2 2026, a decrease of 7% compared to Q2 2025 (when NPEs added 587 defendants). NPE litigation in the second quarter of 2026 exceeded the trailing Q2 average for 2023-2025 by 9% and was 4% higher than in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, operating company plaintiffs added 289 defendants this past quarter, an 8% decrease from Q2 2025. Litigation by operating companies beat the trailing Q2 2023-2025 average by 5% but was also 11% lower than in the first quarter.
| Defendants Added | Change Compared to: | ||||
| Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Q2 2023-2025 Average | Q1 2026 | ||
| NPE | 548 | -7% | 9% | 4% | |
| Operating Company | 289 | -8% | 5% | -11% | |
| Total | 837 | -7% | 7% | -2% | |
Overall, patent plaintiffs added 837 defendants in the second quarter of 2026, or 7% less than in Q2 2025 and 2% less than Q1 2026, also beating the trailing average by 7%.
See RPX’s second-quarter review for more on filing trends and other developments impacting patent risk in Q2.
