As of August 2013, PatentFreedom has identified and profiled over 710 distinct NPEs (a number which continues to increase). Since 1985, these NPEs have been involved in litigation with over 10,000 different operating companies in nearly 11,000 actions, for a total of over 30,000 events. There are clear indications that NPEs in recent years increasingly seek to enforce their patents against companies of all sizes and in many industries. Despite this trend, as the table below shows, NPEs continue to target many large and high-profile companies quite relentlessly.
Virtually all large technology companies are increasingly being targeted by patent trolls. I shed no tears for any of them, though. Offensive abuse of (software/design) patents is always wrong, whether you produce products or not.
You reap what you sow. These companies actively lobby to keep the patent system as it is, and as such, they deserve exactly what they’re getting.
To be chagrined by the sheer amount of tax dollars be wasted on this nonsense, or be glad that they’re keeping all the judges, pages, etc. employed in a weak economy.