Spike in ANDA Litigation Drives Operating Company Increase
Operating company patent litigation was up in the first quarter of 2022 compared to a slow quarter one year ago, with 274 defendants added (versus 250 in Q1 2021). Nearly all of that increase is attributable to Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation targeting generic drugs, which saw unusually low activity in the first quarter last year—with 22 defendants added—compared to 47 this year.
Excluding ANDA litigation, operating company litigation was essentially unchanged in Q1 2022 compared to both the year-ago quarter and Q1 2020, as shown in the graph below.
Overall, plaintiffs added 799 defendants to patent litigation campaigns in Q1, slightly below the first quarter of 2021 and slightly above the trailing Q1 average.
| Defendants Added | Change Compared to: | ||||
| Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | Q1 2018-2020 Average | Q4 2021 | ||
| NPE | 525 | -10.9% | 22.9% | -2.8% | |
| Operating Company | 274 | 9.6% | -19.6% | -10.2% | |
| Total | 799 | -4.8% | 4.0% | -5.4% | |
See RPX’s first-quarter review for more on recent trends impacting patent litigation and the patent marketplace.
