Ireland Emerges as Major Center for Patent Assertion Litigation

Ireland has become a significant location for companies that acquire and enforce patent portfolios through litigation. U.S. district courts and before the International Trade Commission, according to a review of court records. Jerry Padian, who founded Atlantic IP Services after practicing law in New York, established the firm to pursue patent claims.

Atlantic IP Services has been involved in cases against Apple, Samsung, BMW, Volkswagen, and other companies. Several settlements reached tens of millions of dollars, with one exceeding $100 million.

Patent Innovations, backed by Centerbridge, acquired a $200 million patent portfolio from BlackBerry in 2023. The firm has pursued cases involving SAP, Google, Starbucks, Verizon, and Lenovo. It also sponsored the Irish Olympic team. Intellectual Ventures maintains a significant Irish subsidiary and has filed suits against IBM, Ericsson, AT&T, and Toshiba.

Longitude Licensing, an Irish unit of IPValue Management, has litigated against Amazon, Dell, and Taiwan Semiconductor.

Planet International, a PanOptis subsidiary owned by Brevet Capital, holds patents formerly owned by Ericsson. In 2021 the firm obtained a $500 million judgment against Apple that was later reduced to $300 million before a retrial resulted in a loss for PanOptis.

Karen Gallagher, a partner at Pinsent Masons, stated that the term “patent troll” is pejorative and sometimes applied to non-practising entities that assert patent rights. Lauren Cohen, a Harvard Business School professor, noted that some operating companies also use patent enforcement as part of their strategy.