Patent Assertion Entity Activity

Figure 4.4: Industries of Wireless Patent Case Defendants
Note: See Appendix B for a description of how firms are assigned to industries. The “Information, all other”
industry includes, but is not limited to, firms operating as Software Publishers, Motion Picture and Sound
Recording firms, and Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals firms. Figure depicts 66
Portfolio PAE cases, 484 Litigation PAE cases, 119 NPE cases, and 12 Wireless Manufacturer cases.
That percentage still left a substantial share of defendants in other industries, and the breakdown of
industries varied considerably by Wireless Respondent type. For example, about 40% of Portfolio PAE
wireless patent defendants did not operate in either the “Computer & Electronic Product Manufacturing”
industry or the “Manufacturing, all other” industry. Instead, about a quarter of all Portfolio PAE wireless
patent defendants operated in the “Telecommunications and Broadcasting” industry and 8% operated in
the “Retail Trade” industry. NPE defendants also operated in a wide range of industries. Ninety-two
percent of Wireless Manufacturer defendants operated in the “Computer & Electronic Product
Manufacturing” industry. So while Wireless Manufacturers rarely sued to enforce wireless patents
during the study period, when they litigated, they typically sued other manufacturers.
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