Any company that makes, sells, or uses technology-based products and services faces a real risk of being sued for patent infringement. More than 35,000 companies have been sued for infringement since 2010 and the number of at-risk companies continues to rise. Collectively, it costs companies billions of dollars in legal expenses and settlements each year.
Generally, these litigation matters are an exercise in price discovery, helping plaintiffs and defendants exchange value for patent assets through licensing agreements. But because that value is determined in a courtroom, rather than an open market, license payments are deeply distorted. And the lengthy legal process to achieve even a simple settlement typically drives up legal expenses, from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
A Flexible Suite of Solutions to Reduce Patent Risk
Until recently, corporate risk managers have had few tools to quantify, predict, or mitigate these kinds of licensing demands and litigation threats. Today, that risk can be effectively addressed with RPX’s suite of solutions:
The RPX Network
A defensive acquisition network that has already prevented thousands of lawsuits, achieved over 2,000 dismissals, and saved our more than 450 clients over $6.5 billion in avoided costs.
RPX Insurance
The industry’s most comprehensive and effective insurance coverage – an ideal solution for companies just starting to experience predatory licensing.
RPX Market Analytics
Unparalleled industry data and market intelligence, including regular updates on patent licensing activity and litigation costs; quarterly reports on market transactions and trends; and RPX Insight, our proprietary, cloud-based service that provides all of this with customized, in-depth data and analysis.
Patent Quality Initiative
In addition to this expanding suite of services, RPX also focuses on trying to increase efficiency by deterring sub-standard patent assertions and invalidating low-quality patents through the two activities that make up the RPX Patent Quality Initiative: prior art searches and validity challenges.
A rational patent market is steadily emerging, and as it does, RPX solutions are transforming the expensive uncertainty of patent litigation into a predictable and affordable operating risk.