Following the acquisition earlier this year of hundreds of US patent assets from IBM, Quarterhill Inc. announced on September 30 that it has received an additional portfolio of patents from the company. Also this week, Quarterhill disclosed having entered into a patent license agreement with Intel, resolving litigation filed against Intel as well as HP and HP Enterprise (HPE).

RPX took notice, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the first part of April, of the transfer of patents from operating companies including GlobalFoundries, NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, and Toshiba. Also noted was an assignment of nearly 950 patents from Intellectual Ventures LLC to Monument Patent Holdings, LLC (one of the Top Ten NPEs in 2016, by defendants added and new campaigns filed). While some of April’s transactions involved patents that have already been litigated, most involve assets not yet seen in litigation, suggesting that the launch of several new campaigns is imminent.

RPX took note, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the second half of March 2017, of the transfer of hundreds of patents to two Wi-LAN Inc. subsidiaries, one of which has not yet filed suit. Also noted are assignments of patents to Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, to Intellectual Ventures LLC, and to Xperi Corporation, among others.

On February 9, Wi-LAN, Inc. (WiLAN) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year of 2016. The Canadian NPE reported net earnings of $8.6M for Q4, up from $3M during the same quarter last year. Quarterly revenue was $30.2M, compared to $26M during the same period in 2015. However, the company’s overall revenue for 2016 was $92.9M, down from $102.9M in the previous year.