What would AST membership be worth to your company?

AST membership is priced at $100K–$200K annually. The value it delivers — through litigation risk avoidance, pooled buying power, and access to a dedicated IP team — typically far exceeds that cost.

Use this tool to estimate what membership could be worth for your company. It takes about 3 minutes.

Membership value calculator · For IP & finance leaders

What is your company spending
on preventable patent risk?

Most companies only see patent costs after a lawsuit is filed. This calculator estimates your three-year NPE exposure — and shows what a proactive collective defense strategy would cost by comparison.

87%
High-tech litigation from NPEs
90%+
Asserted patents were once for sale
100+
Member licenses granted per year
19 yrs
Proven track record since 2007
Step 01 / Inputs

Tell us about your company

Used to estimate assertion volume and determine your AST membership tier.

NPE assertion rates vary materially by sector. Weighted from AST’s litigation database.

Demand letters, NPE inquiries, and lawsuits combined. Defaults to the industry benchmark for your sector and size.

7per year
0510152025+

Industry average is 35–45%. Lower if you settle early; higher if you are frequently named in multi-defendant cases.

40percent
10%25%40%55%70%80%

Affects pooled acquisition savings. Active participants access the annual IP3 fixed-price program in addition to standard deals.

AST is designed to complement these tools. Select any you currently belong to.

Step 02 / Estimate

Your three-year exposure

Estimated patent risk cost without proactive defense
$0
Three-year cumulative, blended estimate.
Expected assertions (3 years)Industry-weighted from your inputs
0
Settlement costsAvg $750K each, pre-litigation
$0
Litigation escalation costsAvg $3.2M defense + settlement
$0
AST deal participation savingsIncremental vs. acquiring patents independently
$0
AST membership investment (3 yrs)Annual dues + deal contributions
$0
Annual membership value breakdown
AST personnel & IP operations$175k
fAST IP & market intelligence$50k
Deal savings vs. solo acquisition$200k
Litigation cost avoidance$120k
The bottom line
Adjust the inputs to see your estimate.
Step 03 / Methodology

How we calculated this

01 / Assertion benchmarks
Industry-weighted assertion rates

Drawn from AST’s litigation analysis covering patent assertions since 2014. Telecom, consumer hardware, and semiconductor companies face the highest assertion rates. Financial services and medical devices are growing categories.

02 / Settlement costs
$750K average pre-litigation settlement

Based on reported NPE settlement ranges and AIPLA survey data. Pre-litigation NPE settlements typically range from $250K to $2M+ depending on the technology and patents asserted. $750K reflects a conservative midpoint for a mid-sized tech company receiving a single-patent demand.

Source: AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey; RPX Corporation NPE Litigation Report

03 / Litigation costs
$3.2M average through trial

Reflects the AIPLA reported median for patent cases with $1M–$25M at risk. Includes outside counsel, expert witnesses, internal time, and typical settlement or judgment value. Excludes treble damages, which can multiply exposure by 3×.

04 / The upstream insight
Over 90% of asserted patents were once for sale

AST’s reassignment analysis shows that more than 90% of patents used in NPE assertions and lawsuits circulated on the secondary market before being weaponized. Members who acquire licenses upstream avoid downstream cost entirely — not merely reduce it.

Proof points
AST in action — real outcomes for members
Automotive · 2025

When an NPE sued multiple major automakers over patents that had been openly available on the secondary market, every AST member had already obtained a license — before the first lawsuit was filed. Non-member automakers faced millions in litigation costs and years of legal distraction. The patents were visible. The window to act was open. AST members acted.

$0
Litigation costs incurred by AST member automakers in this case, versus millions spent by non-members defending the same patents
Semiconductors & Hardware

Semiconductor and hardware companies are among the most frequently targeted by NPEs. AST members including leading chip designers have collectively received 100+ patent licenses per year covering patents that circulated on the secondary market before any assertion was made. Each license is a lawsuit that was never filed. For companies in this sector, the question is not whether you will face patent assertions — it is whether you will see them coming.

87%
Of all high-tech patent litigation in 2023 was filed by NPEs — semiconductor and telecom companies face the highest assertion rates
19-Year Track Record

Since opening for business in early 2007, AST has operated through multiple patent litigation cycles. Over 100 patent licenses were granted to members annually in each of 2022, 2023, and 2024 — each representing a portfolio intercepted on the open market before it could be weaponized. The fAST IP database, built with a $20M investment over 19 years, is the most complete secondary patent market database in the world. That intelligence advantage compounds with every year of membership.

100+
Patent licenses granted to members per year in 2022, 2023, and 2024 — each one a patent that will not become a lawsuit against those members
Market Intelligence

More than 90% of patents used in NPE assertions and lawsuits were once available for purchase on the secondary market. AST monitors 7,000+ patent sellers and 650+ brokers continuously — flagging portfolios that mention member companies’ products, technologies, or standards. Members vote on which patents to acquire collectively and receive fully paid-up licenses when AST closes a deal. By the time an NPE files a lawsuit, the window to act has already closed.

90%+
Of patents used in NPE assertions were once available for purchase — meaning most patent risk is preventable with the right early warning system

This estimate is a starting point. The real conversation is about your specific exposure.

AST builds custom risk briefings for prospective members using your industry, product portfolio, and the specific patents currently active in your sector.

Become a member ↗