Unified Patents’ litigation prevention, licensing and risk mitigation solutions extend Anaqua’s capabilities to enable organizations to protect and utilize innovation
Boston, MA – August 4, 2026 – Anaqua, the leading provider of intellectual property (IP) management technology and services, today announced its acquisition of Unified Patents, a pioneering provider of IP risk mitigation and intelligence solutions. By combining Anaqua's market-leading IP management platform with Unified Patents' deep expertise in litigation prevention, the company is establishing a new approach that spans the entire innovation and IP lifecycle – from helping organizations commercialize innovation through the creation and management of its IP assets to proactively protecting innovation from abusive litigation and predatory licensing practices.
The acquisition comes at a time when organizations are facing escalating IP litigation risk. Since 2023, increased activity from non-practicing entities (NPEs) and a rise in standard-essential patent (SEP) disputes have contributed to a sharp increase in licensing, litigation, and associated costs. As costs climb, organizations are under increasing pressure to protect product innovation by building new IP assets while preserving freedom to operate. Unified Patents addresses these challenges by identifying and assessing assertions, and then neutralizing low-quality patents through challenging their validity, thereby also deterring future ones. This enables organizations to reduce risk, lower defense costs and focus more resources on innovation and growth.
“Investing in innovation is core to the development of IP assets and the products and services ultimately derived from them, but protecting that investment is becoming increasingly complex,” said Justin Crotty, CEO of Anaqua. “Organizations need more than tools to manage and commercialize intellectual property. They need solutions that help protect the business value behind their innovation. With Unified Patents, Anaqua expands its capabilities beyond managing and protecting IP assets to helping organizations proactively reduce litigation risk, defend against opportunistic patent assertions and safeguard the investments that drive growth and competitive advantage.”
Through a unique membership model, Unified Patents serves more than 300 members across more than a dozen “technology zones” that include Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing & Cloud Storage, Content Delivery & Streaming, Electronic Payments, Cybersecurity, and Mobile Communications, among others. It operates by monitoring patent assertion activity, proactively challenging weak patents and negotiating royalty-free licenses to protect those zones. Unified also has a growing set of related activities, such as prior art searching, AI-enhanced claim charting, and demand-letter analysis, that together form a comprehensive, cost-effective protection and risk-mitigation strategy.
“The economics of innovation are changing,” said Kevin Jakel, co-founder and CEO, Unified Patents. "Patent assertions, licensing demands, and litigation are becoming more sophisticated and more frequent. Organizations need access to stronger defensive capabilities, more intelligence, and earlier warning signals. Together with Anaqua, we can help companies move from reacting to risk to proactively managing it."
As part of this transaction, Jakel joins Anaqua in a new role as Chief Intellectual Property Strategist. He will continue to support the core Unified Patents business while also working to serve Anaqua customers more broadly. Co-founder and current Unified Patents President Shawn Ambwani joins Anaqua as Senior Vice President, Head of Unified Patents, and he is responsible for managing the Unified Patents business unit. Additionally, Jonathan Stroud, Unified Patents’ current Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer, will join Anaqua as Vice President, Head of Unified Patents Operations.
“We are thrilled to have Kevin, Shawn, Jonathan, and the broader Unified Patents team join Anaqua,” Crotty continued. “They have a differentiated skill set and expertise that is highly complementary to that of the existing Anaqua organization.”
The acquisition also strengthens Anaqua's ability to serve executive stakeholders, attorneys and IP professionals with actionable data-driven intelligence that extends beyond traditional IP management. Customers will benefit from enhanced visibility into patent litigation activity, licensing trends, and competitive patent landscapes, enabling more strategic business and investment decisions. The data, skills and expertise Unified Patents has aggregated over 14 years will serve as the foundation for an enhanced set of AI-driven Anaqua platform capabilities focused on risk mitigation, licensing management and portfolio valuation.
“Joining Anaqua allows us to accelerate our mission on a much larger scale,” added Ambwani. “By combining our strengths, we can expand the reach of our solutions, improve patent quality, and provide clients with a more comprehensive approach to managing IP assets, protecting innovation and maintaining freedom to operate.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Unified Patents
Unified Patents is a membership-based organization that works to deter unmeritorious patent assertions across key technology sectors, including automotive, cloud computing, consumer electronics, medical devices, and semiconductors. By combining intelligence, analytics, and invalidity challenges, Unified Patents seeks to protect innovation, reduce costs, and create legal certainty for its more than 300 members. For more information, visit https://www.unifiedpatents.com/.
About Anaqua
Anaqua, Inc. is a premier provider of integrated intellectual property (IP) management technology solutions and services for corporations and law firms. Its IP management software platforms offer best practice workflows with big data analytics and tech-enabled services to create an intelligent environment designed to inform IP strategy, enable IP decision-making, and streamline IP operations, and protect organizations’ freedom to operate tailored to each segment’s needs. Today, nearly half of the top 100 U.S. patent filers and global brands, as well as a growing number of law firms worldwide use Anaqua’s solutions. Over two million IP executives, attorneys, paralegals, administrators, and innovators use the platform for their IP management needs. The company’s global operations are headquartered in Boston, with offices across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia. For additional information, please visit Anaqua.com, or on Anaqua’s LinkedIn.