Ars Technica: Boston University researchers have published a new paper which finds that since 1990, publicly traded companies have lost a total of $500 billion because of lawsuits brought by “non-practicing entities,” aka “patent trolls.” In the last four years, companies have lost an average of $83 billion per year, which the study’s authors say is equal to more than a quarter of U.S. industrial research and development spending.
In order to determine the losses for their study, the researchers examined the impact 1,630 patent troll lawsuits had on the market cap of those being sued. The median loss was $20.4 million, and the mean was $122 million.
SEE ALL
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on Datamation and our other data and technology-focused platforms.
Advertise with Us
Property of TechnologyAdvice.
© 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this
site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives
compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products
appear on this site including, for example, the order in which
they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies
or all types of products available in the marketplace.
