Apple, Samsung and Google were among the most sued patent defendants in 2025 as US district court patent filings hit a 10-year high, according to a Lex Machina report.
The Lex Machina 2026 Patent Litigation report showed that plaintiffs filed 4,547 patent claims last year, almost a fifth higher than in 2024 and the most over the last decade.
Apple was the most active defendant last year with 49 cases, though Samsung Electronics America and its South Korean parent company Samsung Electronics were active defendants in 48 and 47 cases respectively. Google was the next most active defendant with 32 cases, followed by Amazon with 27 cases.
Walmart, Amazon and Apple were sued across the most districts – 19, 18 and 16, respectively – potentially adding to the complexity of those cases given they would require more joined-up coordination with local counsel and venue-specific needs, Lex Machina said.
The most active plaintiffs were Torus Ventures (89 claims), Patent Armory and Headwater Research (both 60).
The Eastern District of Texas saw the largest share of cases in 2025, with 1,245 – more than double those in the Western District of Texas, which saw the second-largest share of cases filed, with 531. Claimants tend to favour the Eastern District of Texas because judges there have extensive patent trial experience and seek to bring cases to trial quickly, according to US firm Farella Braun + Martel.
The most active patent defendant law firms last year were Fish & Richardson (267 cases), which last month unveiled a new proprietary AI patent tool to enhance patent workflows, Gillam & Smith (221) and The Dacus Firm (110).
Meanwhile, courts awarded $2.35bn in patent damages in 2025, roughly a third lower than in 2024 ($3.48bn) but the fourth consecutive year that damages have been above $2bn. In the three years between 2023 and 2025, reasonable royalty awards totalled just short of $8.2bn, the majority of that through verdicts. Lex Machina says that underscores the continuing role of juries in the highest-value patent recoveries.
Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings declined, with inter partes review petitions falling about 8% in 2025 to 1,208, though post-grant review petitions increased by almost 88% to 75, the highest level since 2021.
Samsung Electronics was the most active PTAB petitioner with192 trials petitioned, followed by Samsung’s US business (177) and Apple (109).
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