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Why Join?
There are hundreds of reasons to join the RPX network. Here are the twelve most compelling:
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We are not a patent troll
RPX is like an NPE in one way only: we buy potentially problematic patents in the open market. The similarity ends there. Unlike a troll, we do not opportunistically license our patents (every member of the RPX client network generally receives a license to every patent we own immediately upon joining). And we never offensively assert or litigate the patents we own.
RPX provides a purely defensive service. Our goal is to acquire and clear potentially problematic patents so that patent trolls cannot assert them against our clients.
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We are a unique solution to NPE risk
Companies have few viable ways to reduce NPE risk. Fighting each assertion as an individual company can cost tens of millions of dollars each year (even for a company with only a moderate NPE problem), and independently buying up potentially problematic patents is also extremely expensive (and inadvertently provides de facto protection to other companies that paid nothing). Patent-buying consortiums are rarely able to reach consensus on acquisitions and are only intermittently successful.
Unlike other anti-troll efforts, RPX is focused on limiting the patent problem by shrinking it – removing patents from circulation before they can become costly problems for our clients. And we are the only solution that combines the capital strength and intelligence of multiple participants with the expertise of proven patent professionals.
Only RPX has the scale and independence to efficiently acquire high-threat patent portfolios pre-litigation and out of active litigation. Only RPX can spread the cost of reducing NPE litigation across a large network of participating companies. Only RPX has accurate litigation cost data and a proven actuarial model to provide affordable, comprehensive NPE litigation insurance. And only RPX can deliver – to companies of any size and with a troll problem of any severity – significant, quantifiable and cost-effective reduction of patent risk.
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We deliver measurable risk reduction
RPX directly reduces patent risk in two primary ways: by acquiring potentially problematic patents pre-litigation (before NPEs can buy them) and by acquiring patent rights out of active litigation (to gain early – and low-cost – dismissals for our clients). To date, these two activities have resulted in clearing more than 10,000 patents. Doing so shortened or entirely avoided more than 3,000 potential litigations for our clients, saving more than $2.5 billion in collective legal fees and inflated settlements.
Overall, our defensive patent acquisitions have reduced the incidence of NPE litigation for our membership by approximately 20%. As a result, we have consistently had a strong annual renewal rate in our network.
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We can quantify your patent risk in financial terms
RPX has compiled an extraordinarily broad and deep database on NPE patent litigation and its costs, including frequency of assertion, length of suits, behavior of specific plaintiffs, industry sector trends, and more. Only RPX has all this data. We review thousands of portfolios every year, directly acquire more than $150 millions in patents and patent rights, and advise on patent transactions covering hundreds of millions more. This unique role in the patent market has allowed us to compile the data to build a comprehensive and highly accurate actuarial picture of NPE litigation dynamics and costs.
Using this data, we can accurately predict how frequently a particular company will be the target of assertions in the future and how severe a financial burden those suits could represent. Before RPX began compiling accurate and detailed data on NPE behavior and the true costs of litigation, operating companies were making critical and costly decisions in the dark. We have entirely transformed the status quo, and RPX clients are now able to make financially rational and strategically sound responses to the specific NPE threat they face.
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We provide compelling cost savings
RPX’s interests are 100% aligned with those of our clients. We work to ensure that each RPX client avoids more in legal costs and settlements each year than they pay RPX in subscription fees. We quantify the cost savings we have delivered collaboratively with the client. Together, we review the RPX acquisitions relevant to the client and determine a specific “avoided cost”. The cumulative avoided cost is applied against the client's annual fee to calculate the dollar savings we have delivered for the year. We have been very successful delivering cost savings to the more than 220 members of our network and have had a consistently strong renewal rate each year.
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We price our service cost-effectively
The RPX rate card is designed to be highly cost-effective, providing clients with a reduction in NPE-related costs that markedly exceeds the annual fee (and for many clients this is often less than the cost of fighting a single litigation). Subscription fees are calculated based on the client’s annual financial results.
The growth of the RPX network ensures the cost-effectiveness of our rate card. With more clients, our capital base has expanded, allowing us to acquire more – and more relevant – patent assets, while also spreading the incremental cost of those acquisitions across a broader base. As a result, we are helping more of our clients avoid more litigation, but with only modest increases in our fee structure.
Our insurance premiums are also highly cost-effective. Pricing is based on the detailed cost data we have for the industry overall and the policyholder's particular sector, coupled with (anonymized) operating and NPE-specific information provided by the client. Using our proprietary actuarial analysis, we can then generate a clear picture of the policyholder's probable litigation frequency and cost severity, and provide the policy to deliver maximum coverage for the most affordable price.
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We provide valuable market intelligence
The patent market is complex, rapidly-evolving, and frustratingly opaque for most participants. RPX gives its clients a uniquely clear and comprehensive view of this challenging ecosystem. We are one of the largest acquirers of patent assets and we have the most experienced team in the industry. This experience, coupled with the collective insights and data we glean from our growing client network, gives RPX unsurpassed patent expertise, and we share that intelligence freely with every member of our network.
In a very real sense, we are an extension of our client's IP departments. As part of their annual fee, clients can access our market intelligence through RPX Search, a dedicated online resource with easy-to-use analytical tools that simplify searches and customize research, including profiles of specific NPEs, overviews on the ownership and litigation history of individual patents or portfolios, other data, and much more.
Importantly, we also help our clients maximize the value of this data, providing regular intelligence and analysis of trends in the patent market. We can help our clients translate our unique market data into actionable market intelligence.
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We prevent patent litigation
RPX was formed because NPE patent litigation is extraordinarily inefficient and wasteful for operating companies. The best way to eliminate this inefficiency is to eliminate the cause: potentially problematic patents. Our pre-litigation acquisition efforts proactively remove patents from circulation. We identify and acquire patents before they can be bought by NPEs. By doing so, we prevent potential litigation – and the associated legal defense costs, internal expenses, and settlements – that would otherwise have occurred.
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We can help after a litigation has begun
RPX is uniquely able to help our clients quickly and cost-effectively extricate themselves from NPE lawsuits. Our central, trusted position in the market enables us to negotiate with plaintiffs, acquire a license to the litigated patent and achieve dismissals for our clients from the suit – nearly 800 in approximately 115 litigations through the end of Q1 2015.
Our intervention is beneficial for both the plaintiff and the defendants. For NPE plaintiffs, we have the capital resources to offer a more compelling price than any single company will usually be willing to offer. For our clients, we act as a trusted representative to find a workable resolution and are able to achieve a far more cost-effective dismissal. Our data shows that RPX has historically resolved patent litigations for approximately one-third the cost (per dismissal) than defendants have achieved individually.
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We have a growing network of more than 220 clients
The RPX client network is the largest and most successful collaborative effort to reduce the cost and risk of NPE litigation. In six years, the network has grown to more than 220 companies, ranging from early-stage firms to Fortune 100 industry leaders.
As the network has steadily expanded, we have established strong representation in a wide array of sectors, both in core technology areas (E-commerce, mobile communications, networking, semiconductors, software, etc.) and increasingly in less traditional technology markets, such as financial services and automotive, where NPE litigation is on the rise.
Our consistently strong renewal rate illustrates the viability and durability of RPX’s patent risk solutions and our clients’ belief in our ability to help them significantly reduce the cost of NPE litigation.
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We have solutions for companies of all sizes
A company’s patent risk increases as the company grows. Higher revenue and profitability translate into higher visibility and NPE attention. For these companies that have an established NPE problem, RPX’s core defensive patent acquisition service is a proven and cost-effective way to reduce risk.
RPX also offers an insurance product to cover legal and settlement costs. This product is ideal for companies dealing with fewer NPE threats (historically, once a company is targeted by NPEs, the incidence of litigation only increases) and that lack the resources to respond effectively to an infringement assertion.
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We are making the patent market more rational
Today, the exchange of value between patent owner and patent user occurs largely through the legal system, possibly the least efficient way to conduct a financial transaction. Our goal is to move patent transactions out of the courts and into a true market ecosystem – with multiple participants, price transparency, and valuations based on competitive bidding rather than legal deliberation. RPX is establishing and strengthening these open, market-based conditions on a large scale. Each acquisition decision reflects the needs and benefits of the network as a whole.
The company is independent, our portfolio is managed solely by RPX, and all transactions are conducted at arms length. This operating autonomy and broad perspective are clear differentiators, and have allowed us to build a neutral and flexible platform for multi-party transfers of patent value. As our network continues to grow, our platform can become a clearinghouse to efficiently execute sales, cross-licenses, and other market transactions for all owners and users of intellectual property.