On Friday, May 29, Unified Patents filed its 200th PTAB challenge (you can view them here), roughly seven years since the company first formed. Unified was created at a time of rising patent litigation and at the trailing end of the last economic downturn — litigation largely initiated by non-practicing entities (see historical rates here). At one point, over 90% of all high-tech litigation was initiated by NPEs (2015 report), many of which were using litigation costs to extract settlements. It came with two basic beliefs: first, to never pay NPEs; and second, to challenge bad patents owned by NPEs and seek to deter further investment in serial assertion.
Since its founding, Unified has grown into the third largest patent challenger at the USPTO (including post-grant reviews, ex parte reexams, reissue protests, third party submissions, and inter partes reviews). From a humble living room in Los Altos, Unified has grown from two to over twenty professionals worldwide (team page). It has grown from one zone (i.e., technology area) and six members to nine zones and over 3,000 members (for more, see Zones). Members include some of the largest corporations in the world, as well as, hundreds of startups, open-source developers, and others, many of whom can join for free (here). All members benefit from deterring the investment and assertion of bad patents.
In the interim, NPE litigation has decreased as an overall percentage of suits. In other words, it’s been working (more here). But even with over 200 challenges under our belt, there is much more work left to do to deter bad assertions and improve patent quality. Changes at the PTAB, litigation finance, economic changes, and forum shopping have led to another substantial upswing in NPE litigation. By continuing the fight and continuing to question the validity of broad, widely asserted patents by companies that contribute little to the economy, we hope to continue to create jobs, reduce the drain of nuisance patent litigation on U.S. companies, and effect the policy goals that Congress, the Courts, and the Founders intended.