The number of campaign defendants added to patent litigation matters so far in 2020 has pushed past 2,000. While there is no perfect measure of volume of patent litigation, surpassing that threshold before the half-year point does suggest-given that 2017, 2018, and 2019 ended with approximately 3.6K, 3.4K, and 3.6K campaign defendants added, respectively-that one year-end theme for 2020 may be a rise in US patent litigation.
Here are the numbers as of June 19, 2020, with roughly ten more days to go in the first half of the year:
Defendants Added to Litigation Campaigns by Year
To be sure, the structure of some early 2020 campaigns has affected the numbers. For example, WSOU Investments, LLC (d/b/a Brazos Licensing and Development), in receipt of a large portfolio of former Nokia assets, has chosen to assert them in multiple single-patent actions against each of Dell (suits across 12 campaigns), Huawei (across 14 campaigns), Microsoft (across 12 campaigns), and ZTE (across 11 campaigns). Thus, Dell is counted 12 times in the 2,000 campaign defendants stat, rather than once, had WSOU decided to sue the company with one complaint asserting all 12 patents. However, prior year counts reflect similar circumstances. Take, for instance, the fact that Amazon was sued in cases filed across well more than a dozen campaigns in 2018 over Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited patents, both before and after acquisition by Fortress Investment Group LLC, rather than once in a single complaint asserting all of those patents together.
Thus, as noted, based on the state of play at the half-year mark-and particularly if those who predict that an economic recession (now seemingly likely in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic) might actually apply upward pressure on patent litigation activity are correct-2020 may see a year-end overall uptick.
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