2014 Patent Dispute Report and Analytics

NOTE:    IT CAN SOMETIMES TAKE UP TO 30 SECONDS FOR THE POST TO SHOW THE GRAPHS.  IF YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS WE HAVE CREATED A STATIC VERSION OF THE REPORT HERE. http://unifiedpatents.com/2014-patent-dispute-report-and-analytics/

Figure 1:  In 2014, patent disputes reached the second highest level in history, 6,674.

x	Litigation	PTAB	ITC
2011	3,499		51
2012	5,378	108	41
2013	6,030	773	46
2014	5,002	1,639	33

Litigation

Figure 2:  In 2014, PTAB filings increased, as litigation dropped.

x	Litigation	PTAB	ITC
2011	3,499		51
2012	5,378	108	41
2013	6,030	773	46
2014	5,002	1,639	33

ITC

Figure 3:  In Q4 2014, PTAB petitions reached 45% of initiated litigations.

	Litigation	PTAB
	0	0
Q1	1,273	231
Q2	1,473	497
Q3	1,140	444
Q4	1,114	503

PTAB

Figure 4:  In 2014, SMEs filed 3.7% of PTAB petitions against NPEs, although they were sued about 24.2% of the time by NPEs.

	Non-SME	SME
	0	0
Litigation	75.8	24.2
PTAB	96.3	3.7

Non-SME

Figure 5:  In 2014, High-Tech SMEs filed 3% of the PTAB petitions against NPEs, although they were sued 20% of the time by NPEs.

	Non-SME	SME
	0	0
Litigation	80	20
PTAB	97	3

Non-SME

Figure 6:  In 2014, the High-Tech sector dominated district court litigation and the PTAB.

	Litigation	PTAB	~
	0	0	0
High-Tech	63.3	65.8
Medical	15.9	11.7
Other	20.8	22.5	100

PTAB

Figure 7:  In 2014, the High-Tech sector dominated NPE activity in district court litigation and the PTAB.

	Litigation	PTAB
	0	0
High-Tech	86.2	83.7
Medical	4.7	3.6
Other	9.1	12.7

PTAB

Figure 8:  In 2014, PAEs dominated NPE activity in district court litigation and the PTAB.

	Litigation	PTAB
	0	0
Individual	10.8	4
NPE (Small Company)	7.3	24.3
NPE (Patent Assertion Entity)	81.9	71.7

PTAB

Figure 9:  In 2014, the PTAB became the top venue for patent disputes.

	PTAB	LIT
	0	0
PTAB	1,675
E.D. Tex.		1,436
D. Del.		935
C.D. Cal.		322
D.N.J.		287
C.D. Cal.		251

Patent Disputes by Venue

Definitions

Technology Sectors:

High-Tech = Software, Hardware, Networking, etc.
Medical = Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Health Related Technologies, etc…
Other = Mechanical, Packaged Good, Sporting Equipment, etc…

Entities:

Non Practicing Entity (NPE) = Company which derives the majority of its total revenue from Patent Licensing activities.
Operating Company or Op. Co.  = Company which derives most of its total revenue from Product Sales or Services.  Could be an SME or a large company.
Other Entity = Universities / Non-Profits / Government / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
NPE (Patent Assertion Entities) = Entity whose primary activity is licensing patents and acquired most of its patents from another entity
NPE (Small Company) = Entity whose original activity was providing products and services, but now is primarily focused on monetizing its own patent portfolio.
NPE (Individual) = Entity owned of controlled by an individual inventor who is primarily focused on monetizing inventions patents by that individual inventor.
SME = Companies that make less than $200 million in annual revenue.
Independent = Entities not prone to patent infringement suits, for example non-profits or companies like Unified Patents.

Methodology

Total number of reported petitions can vary.  Unified made its best attempt to eliminate mistaken or duplicative filings.
Unified strives to accurately identify NPEs through all available means, such as court filings, public documents, and product documentation.
Unified strives to determine an SME's revenue through all available means, such as court filings, public documents, and product documentation.