Operating company patents continued to spread among NPEs throughout 2022, including to familiar faces in patent monetization. While a number of those recipients have yet to file any litigation, several did launch new campaigns during the fourth quarter—some with the backing of third-party litigation funding.

Dali Wireless Inc. has opened up a second litigation campaign, suing Corning (Corning Optical Communications) (3:22-cv-00623) in a new Western District of North Carolina complaint over the provision of certain fiber optics enclosures, including its Optical Splice Enclosure, Closet Connector Housing, and ODF Swiveling Patch Panel. Three patents broadly directed to certain telecommunications cable enclosures are asserted, currently available USPTO records suggesting that they have taken an indirect path from original assignee ADC Telecommunications to their current owner, with Dali Wireless pleading that it has filed suit as the patents’ exclusive licensee.  

Recent months have seen a number of patent divestments by operating companies made public, with a range of assignees including frequent filers, publicly traded patent assertion entities, third-party funded plaintiffs, and newly formed NPEs. Divestment size has also varied widely—from a single transacted patent to thousands.