With over 3,500 lawsuits filed in 2022, patent litigation remains a high-stakes battlefield, yet the landscape is shifting dramatically as cases consolidate in key districts like Delaware and Texas while PTAB challenges and settlements continue to define the strategies of both patent holders and defendants.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 3,582 patent infringement cases were filed in U.S. district courts
- Patent filings dropped 12% from 2021 to 2022 in district courts
- Eastern District of Texas saw 18% of all U.S. patent cases filed in 2022
- In 2022, Eastern District of Texas hosted 642 patent cases (18% national)
- District of Delaware saw 1,028 filings in 2022 (29% of total)
- Northern District of California: 312 cases in 2022 (9%)
- 92% of cases terminated by settlement in district courts 2017-2022
- Plaintiff win rate at trial: 32% in 2022 district courts
- Jury verdicts for patentees: $1.2B total in 2022 (12 trials)
- Median patent litigation cost to trial: $4M for $1-25M at risk 2022
- Total verdict damages 2022: $2.8B across 25 trials
- Reasonable royalty rate median: 3.5% in 2022 awards
- Decline in NPE assertions: 18% YoY in 2022
- Top NPE: IP Edge filed 456 campaigns 2022
- Software patents: 52% of assertions 2022, down from 67% in 2015
U.S. patent lawsuits significantly declined in 2022, with many cases shifting to Delaware.
Case Filings
- In 2022, 3,582 patent infringement cases were filed in U.S. district courts
- Patent filings dropped 12% from 2021 to 2022 in district courts
- Eastern District of Texas saw 18% of all U.S. patent cases filed in 2022
- Total patent cases filed from 2010-2022 averaged 4,200 annually
- NPE filings accounted for 52% of patent cases in 2022
- District of Delaware had 1,028 patent filings in 2022
- Patent cases filed peaked at 6,497 in 2013 post-AIA
- 2023 saw 2,931 new district court patent cases through Q3
- California Northern District filed 312 patent cases in 2022
- From 2017-2022, filings declined 40% overall
- Texas Western District filings rose 25% in 2022 to 245 cases
- ITC patent investigations initiated: 62 in FY2022
- PTAB institution filings: 1,512 IPRs in FY2022
- Federal Circuit patent appeals filed: 1,234 in 2022
- Software patent filings: 1,892 cases in 2022 (52% of total)
- Biotech patent cases: 248 filings in 2022
- 2019 filings: 3,259 district court cases
- NPEs filed 1,862 cases in 2022, down 15% YoY
- Operating company filings: 1,720 in 2022
- Delaware filings: 15% of national total in 2021
- EDTX filings declined 30% post-TC Heartland in 2017
- FY2021 PTAB trials filed: 1,838
- 2020 COVID impact: filings down 20% to 2,949
- Telecom patent cases: 512 filings in 2022
- Medical device patents: 189 cases filed 2022
- Supreme Court patent cert petitions: 142 in 2022
- CAFC original proceedings: 56 patent-related in 2022
- ITC Section 337 filings: 71 in 2021
- PGR filings PTAB: 112 in FY2022
- CBM filings (pre-2021): 385 total cumulative by 2020
Case Filings Interpretation
While the patent litigation arena is no longer the Wild West free-for-all of its 2013 peak, the 2022 landscape reveals a sophisticated, if slightly less crowded, battlefield where over half the combatants are NPEs, Delaware has dethroned East Texas as the favored dueling ground, and everyone is constantly appealing to a higher authority.
Damages and Costs
- Median patent litigation cost to trial: $4M for $1-25M at risk 2022
- Total verdict damages 2022: $2.8B across 25 trials
- Reasonable royalty rate median: 3.5% in 2022 awards
- Enhanced damages (treble): awarded in 12% of plaintiff wins 2022
- ITC public interest stays granted: 2% of investigations 2022
- Attorney fees awards to prevailer: $2.1M median 2022
- Cost to interlocutory appeal: $1.5M average 2022
- NPE demand median: $300K pre-suit 2022
- Running royalty post-verdict: imposed in 18% of cases 2022
- Total PTAB costs per IPR: $350K median 2022
- Insurance coverage for patent defense: 45% of companies 2022 survey
- Median verdict $10M-$25M cases: $18.2M 2017-2022
- Lost profits awards: 22% of damages total 2022
- Pre-suit settlement median: $1.2M for tech patents 2022
- Exceptional case fee shifts: 28 under Octane 2022
- ITC bond amounts median: $12M during investigations 2022
- Cost predictability score EDTX: 85/100 2022
- Annual NPE litigation spend: $29B estimated 2022
- Median time to settlement: 18 months district courts 2022
- GAFA defense spend on patents: $5B collective 2022
Damages and Costs Interpretation
It appears the patent litigation arena is a high-stakes, slow-motion knife fight where everyone bleeds money, but the attorneys, statistics, and a fortunate few plaintiffs are the ones holding the tourniquets.
Outcomes and Settlements
- 92% of cases terminated by settlement in district courts 2017-2022
- Plaintiff win rate at trial: 32% in 2022 district courts
- Jury verdicts for patentees: $1.2B total in 2022 (12 trials)
- Summary judgment for defendants: 45% of motions granted 2022
- PTAB invalidation rate: 68% of instituted IPR claims cancelled FY2022
- Settlement rate pre-institution PTAB: 35% in FY2022
- District court dismissals: 22% on 12(b)(6) motions 2022
- ITC exclusion orders: 12 issued in FY2022 (19% of completions)
- Federal Circuit affirmance rate: 78% for PTAB decisions 2022
- Patentee trial win rate software cases: 28% 2018-2022
- NPE settlement rate: 90% of cases 2022
- Post-grant review final written decisions: 84% invalidating at least one claim FY2022
- District court trials: 25 patent jury trials in 2022
- Reexamination requests granted: 55% institution rate 2022
- CAFC reversal rate district courts: 22% in 2022
- Willful infringement findings: 15% of trials 2022
- Rule 11 sanctions: 8 imposed in patent cases 2022
- Stipulated dismissals: 65% of terminations 2022
- Bench trials plaintiff win: 41% vs 32% jury 2017-2022
- IPR appeal affirmance: 82% PTAB decisions 2022
- Median damages award at trial: $15.4M in 2022 verdicts
- Average settlement value: $8.2M for NPE cases 2022
Outcomes and Settlements Interpretation
Patent litigation is largely a game of high-stakes poker where most hands fold early to avoid the crushing risks of trial, the ever-looming threat of invalidation, and the sobering reality that even a winning verdict might just be a pyrrhic victory after a decade of legal fees.
Trends and NPEs
- Decline in NPE assertions: 18% YoY in 2022
- Top NPE: IP Edge filed 456 campaigns 2022
- Software patents: 52% of assertions 2022, down from 67% in 2015
- Post-Alice invalidations: 89% PTAB software patents cancelled 2022
- Big Tech as defendants: 35% of cases 2022
- Repeat players: Top 10 plaintiffs filed 28% of cases 2022
- China-based NPE rise: 15% of filings 2022
- SEP assertions down 22% in 2022
- University patenting litigation: 120 cases 2022, up 10%
- AI patent filings in litigation: 45 cases 2022
- COVID-related patent suits: 89 in 2020-2022
- Venue reform impact: 50% drop EDTX post-Judicial Conference 2022
- Operating co. assertions stable at 48% of filings 2022
- PAE campaigns: 1,234 by top 20 in 2022
- 5G patent disputes: 156 cases 2022
- Biosimilar patent challenges: 210 ANDA Paragraph IV 2022
- Median case pendency district: 24 months 2022
- PTAB institution rate: 62% for IPRs FY2022
- Serial litigation by NPEs: 72% repeat filers 2022
Trends and NPEs Interpretation
The patent litigation landscape is a shifting battlefield where the trolls are getting more specialized, the courts are getting more skeptical, and everyone from Big Tech to universities is fighting over a smaller, tougher pool of software patents.
Venue and Jurisdiction
- In 2022, Eastern District of Texas hosted 642 patent cases (18% national)
- District of Delaware saw 1,028 filings in 2022 (29% of total)
- Northern District of California: 312 cases in 2022 (9%)
- Western District of Texas: 423 cases in 2022 (12%)
- Post-TC Heartland (2017), EDTX share dropped from 25% to 18%
- Colorado District: 89 cases in 2022, up 40%
- ITC venue used in 62 investigations in FY2022 (2% of filings)
- Delaware median time-to-trial: 2.1 years in 2022
- EDTX median time-to-trial: 1.8 years, fastest venue
- WDTX judge Albright handled 25% of national patent docket in 2022
- NDCA patent cases: 9% national share, stable since 2018
- District of New Jersey: 156 cases 2022 (4%)
- Texas Eastern post-2022 venue reform: filings down 35%
- PTAB as venue: 1,512 petitions filed FY2022
- Federal Circuit jurisdiction over 90% of patent appeals
- Supreme Court took 5 patent cases in 2022 term
- State courts handled <1% of patent cases post-Federal Circuit uniformity
- Waco TX (WDTX): 1,200+ cases pending end-2022
- Marshall TX (EDTX): 400 pending cases 2022
- CDCA: 210 filings 2022 (6%)
- MD Florida: 112 cases 2022
- Illinois Northern: 98 cases 2022
- Georgia Northern: 76 cases 2022
- Nevada District: 45 cases 2022, emerging venue
- 85% of patent cases filed in top 10 venues in 2022
Venue and Jurisdiction Interpretation
While Delaware wears the crown for sheer volume, Texas races to judgment, and the PTAB looms as a silent coliseum, the patent litigation map is a constantly shifting battlefield where a handful of districts decide the fate of most national disputes.
Sources & References
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