Multiple litigation finance players announced large fundraises during the third quarter, signaling a continued interest in the asset class by institutional investors. Also during Q3, several NPEs began new campaigns financed by third parties, including an established litigation finance firm as well as a hedge fund.

This summer saw an LED light bulb campaign begun in 2016 by The Regents of the University of California rebooted with funding from Longford Capital, a firm largely considered a leader among US-based commercial litigation funders. Meanwhile, as that campaign continues to grow (with General Electric sued in December, joining Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea, Target, and Walmart as a campaign defendant), and Longford heralds its university initiative, a deep dive into public records reveals that the firm has also backed some well-known NPEs.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw a decline in petitions for AIA review filed against NPES in April 2017. While the total number of April petitions, 120, was somewhat less than the three-year monthly average of 150, NPEs were hit by 20 petitions in April, a 68.8 percent decline from 64 the previous month. The dip in April PTAB filings comes in the midst of an overall increase in PTAB petitions over the previous year, with the total number of petitions filed so far in fiscal year 2017 nearing 1,200 as of the date of this report (compared to just over 930 petitions during the same period last year). Prolific private litigants remain a regular target for PTAB petitions, with petitions filed in April against IP Edge LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, while Acacia Research Corporation was the only publicly traded NPE named in petitions brought during that month.

In the first half of December 2015, RPX saw 14 patent transfers to NPEs recorded with the USPTO. A number of those transactions involved patents that have recently been asserted in litigation against operating companies.