Telecom is one of the hottest patent monetization domains right now. There have been various litigations in the past 5 years in the telecom domain, and many of these cases were filed by patent monetization companies. This means that many of these patents-in-suit were sold to other parties who initiated the patent litigation, rather than the patent filer.
In the past 4 years, 37 companies /NPEs have sold over 400 patents in the telecommunication industry to patent monetization companies.
Patent transactions often go hand-in-hand with legal disputes. To see how these transfers translate into real-world lawsuits, explore our in-depth analysis of NPE litigation trends
Top 10 Companies / NPEs that have sold patents to patent monetization companies in the telecom domain in the past 4 years
| Name | No of Patents | Type [Operating Company / NPE] |
| Mind Fusion Llc | 126 | Company |
| Huawei | 82 | Company |
| Intellectual Ventures | 26 | NPE |
| SK Hynix Inc | 23 | Company |
| Bytemobile Innovations | 21 | Company |
| Xenogenic Development Llc | 16 | Company |
| Telecommunications System Inc | 13 | Company |
| Zarbana Digital Fund Llc | 12 | Company |
| Empire Technology Development Llc | 9 | NPE |
| Terrace Licensing Llc | 7 | Company |
Source: GreyB’s Patent Acquisition Tracker
What stands out in this list is the blend of operating companies and NPEs. Companies like Huawei and SK Hynix are offloading patents to streamline their focus, while monetizers like Mind Fusion and Intellectual Ventures are actively trading assets.
Interestingly, even NPEs are selling to other NPEs, creating a loop where the same patents can resurface in new lawsuits. Leading the charge is Mind Fusion, which sold 126 patents – more than the next two sellers combined.
How has such patent selling in telecommunications taken place over the years?
How many of these patents have been litigated till now?
Out of 412 transacted patents, 74 have already been asserted in litigation – targeting industry heavyweights like Samsung, AT&T, Tesla, Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, Alphabet, and Google.
This high litigation conversion rate signals that these aren’t “dead” portfolios; they’re strategic weapons actively deployed in high-stakes lawsuits.
Case Study: OptiMorphix’s Patent Acquisition and Litigation Campaign
In April 2023, OptiMorphix, Inc. acquired a patent from Bytemobile Innovations in a single transaction executed on April 10, 2023. Such acquisitions often signal enforcement intentions, and OptiMorphix soon followed through by initiating a litigation campaign.
Between September and December 2023, the company filed five lawsuits against major players, including Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Amazon, Alphabet, and Google. Among the asserted assets was U.S. Patent No. 7,444,418, “Transcoding multimedia information within a network communication system,” underscoring how recently acquired portfolios can quickly become powerful tools for patent enforcement.
Conclusion
If you are looking for more information, like the complete list of companies that have sold telecom-related patents in the last 4 years, or the specific patent numbers, please fill out the form below to take subscription to GreyB’s Patent Acquisition Tracker and get the required details.
