Overview
As patent litigation continues to rise, the Transport Zone is expected to see an 105% increase by the end of 2020. At the halfway point of the year (78 cases), litigation has already reached last year high (76 cases). This means that based on current numbers litigation is expected to hit 150+ cases reaching near all-time highs in this zone.
Transport manufacturers continue to be the main targets of litigation. These manufacturers comprise 89% of all first-named defendants. Manufacturers are defined as companies such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Tesla. Dealerships are defined as a company that primarily sells for the manufacturer. These would include Kinsel Ford and Zimbrick Honda. Suppliers are companies such as Bosch Automotive, ABB, and even Uber that provide components or services.
NPEs continue to bring the majority of the lawsuits against Transport manufacturers and suppliers. NPEs are responsible for almost 77% of all transport litigation.
Looking at the year-by-year trends, NPE litigation has doubled in the first half of the year since last year in the Transport Zone.
The top-five plaintiffs in 2020, four are prolific NPEs, continually attack this zone. Those four NPEs account for 37% (29 cases out of 78) of litigation brought this year alone. The top-five plaintiffs are:
JG Technologies (NPE): 11
Display Technologies (NPE): 9
Noco Company (Operating Company): 6
Omnitek Partners (NPE): 5
2BCOM (NPE): 4
The top-five defendants in 2020, all manufacturers account for 25% of first-named defendants. The manufacturers are:
METHODOLOGY
Unified looked at all major Transport manufacturers and the top 10 Transport suppliers by revenue since 2012.
Total number of reported cases can vary. Unified made its best attempt to eliminate mistaken or duplicative filings.
Statistics include litigations initiated by NPEs or Declaratory Judgments (DJs) initiated by operating companies against NPEs.
Unified strives to accurately identify NPE through all available means, such as court filings, public documents, and product documentation.
LEGEND
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.
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 or controlled by an individual inventor who is primarily focused on monetizing inventions patents by that individual inventor.
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