{"id":1538,"date":"2015-12-05T23:38:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T04:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/rpx-corporation-first-defense-against-patent-trolls\/"},"modified":"2015-12-07T15:41:07","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T20:41:07","slug":"rpx-corporation-first-defense-against-patent-trolls","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/rpx-corporation-first-defense-against-patent-trolls\/","title":{"rendered":"RPX Corporation: First Defense Against Patent Trolls"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an example of an effective company because RPX not only identified a strong customer need but also devised a novel approach to addressing that need and then capturing some that value for itself.<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Since the late ’90s, there has been a proliferation in\u00a0patent litigation, most of which was initiated with the primary intent of extracting value from the defendant rather than litigating a valid IP dispute (also known as nuisance suits). The plantiffs were oftentimes non-practicing entities (NPEs) or patent trolls, companies or entities that leveraged the patents they own to sue as a means to turn a profit. Historically, companies had to pour millions of dollars and hundreds of hours into defending against and settling with these trolls, diverting resources away from core business functions. Sources have estimated that patent litigation has cost defendants $29B in direct costs and has caused\u00a0over $60B in damages indirectly (1). Other than being a drain on economic resources, NPEs have stifled technological\u00a0advances\u00a0as most\u00a0of these suits have been brought against technology companies.<\/p>\n

Business Model<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

This was the status quo until John Amster effectively identified\u00a0this market inefficiency and founded\u00a0RPX in 2008.\u00a0RPX\u00a0seeks out and buys\u00a0patents in order to use them defensively against patent trolls to protect its client base.\u00a0It puts itself directly between NPEs and its clients\u00a0as a first line of defensive. The company saves its customers the costs incurred from defending against litigation directly (by using its pool of patents to counter patents held by NPEs during litigation or preempt\u00a0litigation by defensively buying patents) so its customers can focus on innovation and creation of new tech\u00a0and products. In return, RPX\u00a0captures a portion\u00a0of those cost savings for itself by charging customers an annual subscription fee for\u00a0its services.<\/p>\n

\"RPX<\/a><\/p>\n

RPX\u00a0was the first and remains the only defensive patent aggregator in this space and has created a\u00a0monopoly in\u00a0protecting companies from\u00a0patent trolls.\u00a0As its position in the market suggests, this is an incredibly novel business model and the company has structured an\u00a0operating model to support it.<\/p>\n

Operating Model<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to create value, RPX\u00a0has created\u00a0several internal teams and processes to support its business model:<\/p>\n

Direct Sales:<\/span>\u00a0RPX has assembled a highly technical sales team that\u00a0is capable of a highly consultative sell. Salespeople are\u00a0taught to\u00a0target companies that are currently embroiled in litigation to offer RPX services. In addition, the sales pitch is highly quantitative. Salespeople come in with models to demonstrate RPX’s value proposition through projecting specific dollar savings based on a prospective customer’s record with\u00a0nuisance suits.<\/p>\n

Patent Acquisition Team:<\/span>\u00a0Given that RPX derives most of the value it provides its customer through owning\u00a0patents, it dedicates significant\u00a0resources to procuring the right set of patents to continue defending its clients.\u00a0The team is comprised of financial, technical, and legal experts to assess the value and attractiveness of any individual\u00a0patent. The team spends over\u00a0$100M every year and now sits on a pool of more than\u00a010,000 patents. RPX allows its subscription customers to help determine the direction of future patent spending.\u00a0The company has since leveraged this pool of patents to create another small revenue stream\u00a0to further\u00a0diversify its business model.\u00a0There are a certain number of prospective clients that are too small to pay the subscription and therefore are offered the newer insurance product, which protects clients\u00a0for a smaller fee and precludes them from influencing direction of spend on patent acquisition.<\/p>\n

Business Development Team:<\/span>\u00a0Beyond just looking at individual patents, RPX also evaluates large portfolios of patents for its clients. However, the company lacks the resources to buy these portfolios by itself. So the business development team looks to coordinate multiple clients to collectively raise money (separate from the annual subscription) to buy the portfolio.\u00a0Initially this practice as a\u00a0one-off, but given that RPX was successful, this has become a smaller piece of the larger subscription-based business model, further diversifying the business model.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/span><\/h4>\n

Conversations\u00a0with corporate\u00a0customers, former employees, and\u00a0litigation experts for perspective on the operating model.<\/p>\n

(1) Bessen, James. “The Evidence Is In: Patent Trolls Do Hurt Innovation.” HBR<\/i>. 性视界 Business Review, 25 July 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.<\/p>\n

(2) Masnick, Mike. “Venture Capital Trade Association Hires Patent Troll Lawyers, Fights Against Patent Reform… Even As Most VCs Want Patent Reform | Techdirt.” Techdirt.<\/i> N.p., 9 July 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.<\/p>\n

(3) RPX Corporation\u00a0(2014). 10-K Report<\/em>. Retrieved from\u00a0http:\/\/ir.rpxcorp.com.<\/p>\n

(4) RPX Coporation (Q3 2015).\u00a0Investor Presentation. <\/em>Retrieved from http:\/\/ir.rpxcorp.com.<\/p>\n

(5) Blumberg, Alex, Ira Glass, and Laura Sydell. “When Patents Attack! | This American Life.” This American Life<\/i>. N.p., 22 July 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an example of an effective company because RPX not only identified a strong customer need but also devised a novel approach to addressing that need and then capturing some that value for itself. 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