Eleventh annual program drew 27 voting members and 1,384 lots, with group licensing and member collaboration driving the record results
The numbers are in, and they paint a clear picture: collaborative patent defense is scaling up. Allied Security Trust (AST) has wrapped up voting for its eleventh annual Industry Patent Purchase & Licensing Program (IP3), and the results mark the biggest year in the initiative’s history. When the votes were counted at the September 30 session, 27 member companies had sifted through 1,384 accepted lots—covering 1,493 patent families, 1,778 active U.S. patents, and 3,078 worldwide assets—and settled on 70 lots to acquire or license as a group. That translates to $5.625 million in member investment spread across 89 patent families, 137 U.S. patents, and 186 active assets, with 41 lots purchased outright and 29 secured via group sublicenses. The transactions are slated to close by the end of 2026.
By nearly every metric, IP3 2026 stands as the strongest outing in the program’s 11-year run, with both deal volume and capital outlay reaching unprecedented heights. The $5.625 million invested represents a 9% jump over the $5.139 million committed in IP3 2025 and a 34% surge above the $4.2 million from IP3 2024. The 70 deals selected this year dwarf the 47 from 2025—a 49% leap—and the 51 from 2024. Notably, group sublicenses now account for 41% of all deals, up from 30% the prior year, signaling a growing preference for shared licensing arrangements over outright purchases.
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For those unfamiliar with the mechanics, IP3 serves as a bridge between patent holders and a consortium of major tech firms, using a fixed-price purchase or group licensing structure. This cycle, AST’s intake team fielded over 1,500 submissions from more than 220 sellers and 30 brokers. The deal economics varied widely: prices ranged from $8,000 to $350,000, averaging $80,357 per lot and $63,202 per patent family. The roster of 27 participating companies reads like a who’s who of the industry, including Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Snap, Sony, Spotify, Uber, and Verizon.
Collaboration drove the outcomes
A key takeaway from this year’s results is the power of collective action. Lots that drew interest from multiple members had a significantly higher chance of being selected than those appealing to just one. On average, 3.6 members pooled their resources to fund each deal, spreading both risk and reward across the consortium.
Where members invested
Looking at the sector breakdown, Wireless, Telecom & Networking emerged as the most active zone with 19 deals, followed by Content Distribution & Advertising (10) and a three-way tie for third—Cloud Computing, Hardware & Software, and Semiconductor, Lighting & Optoelectronics—each with 9 deals. Some of the most closely watched technology areas made notable showings: AI and machine learning submissions grew 33% to 200 lots, with members selecting five AI/ML lots; semiconductors, the program’s largest zone at 371 lots (27% of all submissions), yielded nine deals; and content distribution, streaming, and media-processing lots attracted some of the broadest co-funding, with 10 deals averaging 3.8 participating members each.
Universities played a starring role, accounting for 36 of the 70 selected lots (51%), while universities and research institutions together submitted 69% of all lots.
“IP3 2026 shows the collaborative model working at scale. Our members selected 70 deals, nearly 50% more than last year, and group licensing gave patent owners and members a flexible path to a fair price. Patent owners get a clear, efficient route to market, and members get proactive protection at a shared cost. I congratulate our members and the AST team on a record year,” said Russell W. Binns Jr., CEO of AST.
“IP3 2026 showed what happens when members have good information and a clear process. They reviewed 1,384 lots, converged on 242 that mattered most to them, and then pooled capital to fund 70 deals. The more members who saw value in a lot, the more likely it was to get done, and that is the point of a collaborative model,” said Mihir Patel, Executive Vice President, Licensing & Analytics at AST.
True to AST’s catch-and-release approach, all acquired portfolios will be put back on the market for resale or licensing, with details available to prospective members, potential buyers, or their representatives at www.ast.com/acquired-portfolios.
While IP3 is a flagship event, it’s just one facet of AST’s ongoing operations. The organization remains one of the patent industry’s most active buyers, securing rights and sublicenses for members year-round through its Standard Program. Patent owners, universities, and brokers don’t have to wait for the next IP3 cycle—they can submit their lots to AST at any time via www.ast.com/sell-to-ast.
ABOUT ALLIED SECURITY TRUST (AST)
AST, a member-driven cooperative established in 2007, reduces patent risk for the world’s leading technology companies through cost-shared patent acquisitions and licenses. Its membership includes more than 30 multinational companies across diverse industries. AST is a not-for-profit Delaware statutory trust. For more information, visit www.ast.com.
Russ Binns
Allied Security Trust (AST)
binns@ast.com
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Why it matters: This record-breaking cycle demonstrates that collective patent defense is becoming a mainstream strategy for tech giants, allowing them to neutralize threats at a fraction of individual cost. As patent litigation risks grow, the collaborative model AST has refined could become an increasingly vital tool for companies looking to protect their innovations without blowing their budgets.
