RPX has observed a growing number of patent lawsuits filed by universities against operating companies. Since January 2012, seven academic institutions tracked through the RPX Insight have collectively sued over 55 companies. The market sectors targeted are varied; they include Mobile Communications and Devices, Networking, E-commerce and Software, and Semiconductors. Apple, Samsung, Cisco, Microsoft, Facebook, Walmart, and Seoul Semiconductor are among the companies sued by universities in the last two years. The majority of the patents asserted have been related to semiconductor technology, data encoding, and Internet applications. Counsel retained to represent these schools includes McKool Smith, a plaintiffs firm known for representing non-practicing entities.