| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized when (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) all obligations have been substantially performed pursuant to the terms of the arrangement, (iii) amounts are fixed or determinable, and (iv) the collectibility of amounts is reasonably assured. In general, revenue arrangements provide for the payment of contractually determined fees in consideration for the grant of certain intellectual property rights for patented technologies owned or controlled by Acacia’s operating subsidiaries. These rights typically include some combination of the following: (i) the grant of a non-exclusive, retroactive and future license to manufacture and/or sell products covered by patented technologies owned or controlled by Acacia’s operating subsidiaries, (ii) a covenant-not-to-sue, (iii) the release of the licensee from certain claims, and (iv) the dismissal of any pending litigation. The intellectual property rights granted may be perpetual in nature, extending until the expiration of the related patents, or can be granted for a defined, relatively short period of time, with the licensee possessing the right to renew the agreement at the end of each contractual term for an additional minimum upfront payment. Pursuant to the terms of these agreements, Acacia’s operating subsidiaries have no further obligation with respect to the grant of the non-exclusive retroactive and future licenses, covenants-not-to-sue, releases, and other deliverables, including no express or implied obligation on Acacia’s operating subsidiaries’ part to maintain or upgrade the technology, or provide future support or services. Generally, the agreements provide for the grant of the licenses, covenants-not-to-sue, releases, and other significant deliverables upon execution of the agreement, or upon receipt of the minimum upfront payment for term agreement renewals. As such, the earnings process is complete and revenue is recognized upon the execution of the agreement, when collectibility is reasonably assured, or upon receipt of the minimum upfront fee for term agreement renewals, and when all other revenue recognition criteria have been met. For the periods presented herein, the majority of the revenue agreements executed by the Company provided for the payment of one-time, paid-up license fees in consideration for the grant of certain intellectual property rights for patented technology rights owned by Acacia's operating subsidiaries. These rights were primarily granted on a perpetual basis, extending until the expiration of the underlying patents. Cost of Revenues . Cost of revenues include the costs and expenses incurred in connection with Acacia’s patent licensing and enforcement activities, including inventor royalties paid to original patent owners, contingent legal fees paid to external patent counsel, other patent-related legal expenses paid to external patent counsel, licensing and enforcement related research, consulting and other expenses paid to third-parties and the amortization of patent-related investment costs. These costs are included under the caption “Cost of revenues” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Inventor Royalties and Contingent Legal Expenses. Inventor royalties are expensed in the consolidated statements of operations in the period that the related revenues are recognized. In certain instances, pursuant to the terms of the underlying inventor agreements, upfront advances paid to patent owners by Acacia’s operating subsidiaries are recoverable from future net revenues. Patent costs that are recoverable from future net revenues are amortized over the estimated economic useful life of the related patents, or as the prepaid royalties are earned by the inventor, as appropriate, and the related expense is included in amortization expense in the consolidated statements of operations. Any unamortized upfront advances recovered from net revenues are expensed in the period recovered, and included in amortization expense in the consolidated statements of operations. Contingent legal fees are expensed in the consolidated statements of operations in the period that the related revenues are recognized. In instances where there are no recoveries from potential infringers, no contingent legal fees are paid; however, Acacia’s operating subsidiaries may be liable for certain out of pocket legal costs incurred pursuant to the underlying legal services agreement. Use of Estimates. The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Acacia believes that, of the significant accounting policies described herein, the accounting policies associated with revenue recognition, stock-based compensation expense, impairment of marketable securities and intangible assets including goodwill, the determination of the economic useful life of amortizable intangible assets, income taxes and valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets and the application of the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations, require its most difficult, subjective or complex judgments. Concentrations. Four licensees individually accounted for 22% , 19% , 16% and 11% of revenues recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2016 , and two licensees individually accounted for 58% and 15% of revenues recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2015 . For the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, 25% and 62% , respectively, of revenues were attributable to licensees domiciled in foreign jurisdictions, based on the jurisdiction of the entity obligated to satisfy payment obligations pursuant to the applicable revenue arrangement.The Company does not have any material foreign operations. Three licensees individually represented approximately 48% , 22% and 15% of accounts receivable at March 31, 2016 . Two licensees individually represented approximately 72% and 21% of accounts receivable at December 31, 2015. Stock-Based Compensation. The compensation cost for stock-based awards is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized as an expense, on a straight-line basis, over the employee’s requisite service period (the vesting period of the equity award) which is two to four years . The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option valuation model. The fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock unit awards is determined by the product of the number of shares or units granted and the grant date market price of the underlying common stock. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded only for those awards expected to vest using an estimated forfeiture rate. Fair Value Measurements. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price that would be received for an asset or the exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date, and also establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs, where available. The three-level hierarchy of valuation techniques established to measure fair value is defined as follows: ● Level 1 - Observable Inputs: Quoted prices in active markets for identical investments; ● Level 2 - Pricing Models with Significant Observable Inputs: Other significant observable inputs, including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, credit risk, etc.; and ● Level 3 - Unobservable Inputs: Significant unobservable inputs, including the entity’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments. Whenever possible, the Company is required to use observable market inputs (Level 1 - quoted market prices) when measuring fair value. Patents. Patents include the cost of patents or patent rights (hereinafter, collectively “patents”) acquired from third-parties or obtained in connection with business combinations. Capitalized patent costs are amortized utilizing the straight-line method over their remaining economic useful lives, ranging from one to eight years . Certain patent application and prosecution costs incurred to secure additional patent claims, that based on management’s estimates are deemed to be recoverable, are capitalized and amortized over the remaining estimated economic useful life of the related patent portfolio. Impairment of Long-lived Assets. Acacia reviews long-lived assets and intangible assets for potential impairment annually (quarterly for patents) and when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In the event the expected undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recorded equal to the excess of the asset’s carrying value over its fair value. If an asset is determined to be impaired, the loss is measured based on quoted market prices in active markets, if available. If quoted market prices are not available or not indicative of current fair value, the estimate of fair value is based on various valuation techniques, including a discounted value of estimated future cash flows. Fair value is generally estimated using the “Income Approach,” focusing on the estimated future net income-producing capability of the patent portfolios over the estimated remaining economic useful life. Estimates of future after-tax cash flows are converted to present value through “discounting,” including an estimated rate of return that accounts for both the time value of money and investment risk factors. Estimated cash inflows are typically based on estimates of reasonable royalty rates for the applicable technology, applied to estimated market data. Estimated cash outflows are based on existing contractual obligations, such as contingent legal fee and inventor royalty obligations, applied to estimated license fee revenues, in addition to other estimates of out-of-pocket expenses associated with a specific patent portfolio’s licensing and enforcement program. The analysis also contemplates consideration of current information about the patent portfolio including, status and stage of litigation, periodic results of the litigation process, strength of the patent portfolio, technology coverage and other pertinent information that could impact future net cash flows. Income Taxes. Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in Acacia’s consolidated financial statements or consolidated income tax returns. A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets if all, or some portion, of such assets will more than likely not be realized, or if it is determined that there is uncertainty regarding future realizability of such assets. The provision for income taxes for interim periods is determined using an estimate of Acacia’s annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items, if any, that are taken into account in the relevant period. Each quarter, Acacia updates the estimate of the annual effective tax rate, and if the estimated tax rate changes, a cumulative adjustment is recorded. The Company's effective tax rates for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, were 2% and 1% , respectively. The effective rates for the periods presented primarily reflect the impact of foreign withholding taxes related to certain revenue agreements executed with third party licensees domiciled in foreign jurisdictions, and valuation allowances recorded for foreign withholding tax credits and net operating loss related tax assets generated during the periods. |
