Context: RPX provides patent litigation risk management services to its members, which include several major tech companies. One such service is the negotiation of group licenses with third parties that cover all, or some, of its members.
What’s new: RPX has signed a multi-year patent licensing agreement with research and licensing firm Adeia (June 30, 2026 RPX press release). The deal covers Adeia patents relevant to various e-commerce technologies, including “intelligent search, content discovery, personalization, recommendations, virtual shopping experiences, social commerce and consumer engagement across connected platforms”.
Direct impact: 10 RPX member companies will be covered by the deal, granting them freedom to operate with regards to the relevant Adeia patents. According to the press release, the participating members are “market leaders across the digital commerce ecosystem, including major global apparel and beauty brands, online marketplaces, localized transportation and delivery networks, and enterprise technology platforms”.
Wider ramifications: The RPX agreement is the latest in a string of deals for Adeia, which has increasingly sought to diversify away from its legacy pay-TV-related business to building revenue from its semiconductor and non-pay-TV media portfolios – including, specifically, e-commerce patents (May 6, 2026 ip fray article).
Reporting its Q1 2026 activity earlier this year, Adeia disclosed eight licensing deals for the period, including multi-year agreements with AMD (March 9, 2026 ip fray article) and Microsoft (February 24, 2026 ip fray article).
Five of the eight licensing deals centered on “media” patents, with the remainder relating to semiconductor technologies. Early in Q2 Adeia signed a further agreement with L’OrĂ©al, stating that the deal is “expanding our presence in e-commerce”.
In the press release announcing today’s deal with RPX, Mark Kokes, Adeia’s Chief Revenue Officer, said:
“E-commerce today is increasingly driven by intelligent discovery, personalization and consumer engagement. The diversity of companies participating in this agreement reflects the breadth, relevance and growing applicability of Adeia’s media portfolio across the e-commerce ecosystem.”
For RPX, the agreement comes at a time of flux. Its long-time CEO Dan McCurdy is departing, with successor Ryan Elliot—currently serving as Executive Vice President of Syndicated Acquisitions—officially taking the helm tomorrow (May 21, 2026 RPX press release).
More broadly, market-based solutions offering patent defense strategies have come under some increased criticism from various quarters of late (June 17, 2026 ip fray article).
RPX itself is a joint defendant in an antitrust complaint brought by patent holder Xockets in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (December 21, 2024 ip fray article).
Claus Melarti, Senior Vice President at RPX, said of the Adeia deal:
“By aggregating licensees… our syndicated group deals unlock efficiencies that allow operating companies to quickly resolve complex patent risks with reduced cost and transactional friction. We remain committed to delivering value… through efficient license arrangements with the full spectrum of patent owners, ranging from individual inventors to operating companies, patent pools, universities, and sophisticated publicly traded IP licensing corporations like Adeia.”