As extensively reported by RPX, the acquisition and assertion of operating company patents by NPEs remained a significant driver of litigation throughout 2020. Be prepared for this long-term trend to possibly accelerate as a result of the COVID-19 recession. If past is prologue, the current financial crisis will likely be followed by years of increased patent divestments by operating companies—including to NPEs.

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).

Additional details about Quarterhill Inc.’s Q1 acquisition of a patent portfolio from IBM are now available, with recently released USPTO records so far confirming the assignment of over 470 US assets to Quarterhill’s Elpis Technologies Inc.

On February 20, Quarterhill Inc. announced that a subsidiary of its patent licensing arm, Wi-LAN Inc. (WiLAN), has acquired a patent portfolio from IBM. The patents now held by WiLAN’s Elpis Technologies Inc. are described as relating to semiconductor manufacturing process technologies; the assignment away from IBM is not reflected by USPTO records available as of the publication date of this article.

This past week, Quarterhill Inc. announced its financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2019, reporting an increase of more than 280% in year-over-year patent licensing revenue. In Thursday’s earnings call, Board Chairman John Gillberry told investors that Quarterhill’s patent licensing business is “alive and well”, with patent deals signed in Q4 having increased the company’s cash balance of $68.6M (as of December 31, 2019) to “roughly $90M” (as of February 27).