RPX data and analysis indicate that while approximately 85% of the patent litigation filed each year since 2005 has involved patents that originated with operating companies, the vast majority of defendants in those cases were sued by NPEs. This trend persisted through the first quarter of 2021, with new cases brought by a range of NPEs, including serial filers, a publicly traded NPE, and multiple third-party backed plaintiffs.

Texas monetization firm IP Edge LLC recently moved two of the 30 US patents that it acquired from Siemens in October 2018 to a new entity, Bunker IP LLC, which has now asserted those two patents in separate suits filed against Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) (1:21-cv-00483), DISH Network (DISH Wireless) (1:21-cv-00482), and ZTE (1:21-cv-00484) in the Northern District of Illinois and against TCL (1:21-cv-00088) in the District of Delaware. Myriad IP Edge plaintiffs have litigated patents from that former Siemens portfolio, including Q3 Networking LLC, which filed a complaint before the International Trade Commission (ITC), pleading that it would support a domestic industry claim by “promptly seek[ing] detailed discovery of Siemens’ domestic industry activities and investments related to the Asserted Patents and claimed technology through subpoena or through cooperation”. Q3 Networking has apparently proceeded via subpoena.