Research
New US patent suits: where they are filed, who files them, and how many defendants each patent reaches.
Suits filed August 3, 2026 – October 23, 2026 · updated October 24, 2026
CourtListener indexed 624 new patent suits filed in US district courts between August 3, 2026 and October 23, 2026. 42.6% were filed in E.D. Tex., and 51.8% in Texas overall. 15 plaintiffs with 5 or more suits each filed 35% of the infringement suits. Of 582 patents asserted, 21.5% were asserted against more than one defendant, and 12 against ten or more.
- Suits
- 624
- Patents asserted
- 582
- Plaintiffs
- 297
- Declaratory-judgment actions
- 34
Where they are filed
| Court | Suits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| E.D. Tex. | 266 | 42.6% |
| D. Del. | 59 | 9.5% |
| W.D. Tex. | 57 | 9.1% |
| N.D. Cal. | 24 | 3.8% |
| C.D. Cal. | 23 | 3.7% |
| N.D. Ill. | 20 | 3.2% |
| S.D. Fla. | 14 | 2.2% |
| E.D. Va. | 12 | 1.9% |
| D. Colo. | 10 | 1.6% |
| S.D.N.Y. | 10 | 1.6% |
By month filed
| Month | Suits |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | 261 |
| September 2026 | 208 |
| October 2026 (to date) | 155 |
Most frequent plaintiffs
Infringement suits only, names as docketed; spelling variants of one name are counted together.
| Plaintiff | Suits | Patents |
|---|---|---|
| ABC IP, LLCpatents | 58 | 10 |
| Near Field Electronics LLCpatents | 20 | 5 |
| Arbor Systems LLC | 18 | 8 |
| Cedar Lane Technologies Inc.patents | 17 | 1 |
| Cogent Insights Licensing Inc.patents | 13 | 1 |
| Torus Ventures LLCpatents | 10 | 1 |
| Activemap LLC | 9 | — |
| ContentNexus LLCpatents | 9 | 11 |
| Valtrus Innovations Ltd.patents | 9 | 3 |
| ExactoJoin LLCpatents | 8 | 1 |
Defendants per asserted patent
Distinct defendants named in suits on each patent, across the 368 suits whose complaints identify the patents.
| Defendants | Patents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 defendant | 457 | 78.5% |
| 2 | 77 | 13.2% |
| 3–4 | 24 | 4.1% |
| 5–9 | 12 | 2.1% |
| 10 or more | 12 | 2.1% |
How long campaign patents have left
27.9% of the patents asserted in volume have already expired; another 20% expire within three years.
The 140 patents in suit asserted against three or more defendants since May 2026, a median of 10.1 years after grant. An expired patent can still be asserted for damages from the six years before suit. Expired means the patent record says so; where the estimated expiry has passed but the record still reads active, usually because of a term adjustment or extension, the patent is counted as unclear.
| Expired | 39 | 27.9% |
| Within 3 years | 28 | 20% |
| 3–7 years | 24 | 17.1% |
| 7 years or more | 28 | 20% |
| Status unclear | 21 | 15% |
About these numbers
Source: patent cases (nature of suit 830) indexed by CourtListener, recorded as they are docketed, from August 3, 2026. Suits filed earlier are not counted because coverage before August 2026 is incomplete. Patent numbers come from the complaints; 256 suits without an available complaint count toward court, month and plaintiff figures but not toward the per-patent table. Expiry data is from each patent's public record. Figures are recomputed every day; cite them with the date shown above.
Named in one of these suits? Find the patent's record, or order a free preliminary search.