Is one thing for a patent portfolio to be large, it’s another for it to be current. Double check this, as shown in the “Remaining Life in Mergers Patents” figure, a plot is made to show how many years remain in the merger’s patents’ life.  This can see be seen in this example.  Most of the portfolio has many years of life left so the merger’s products and services will be covered for years to come. The graph depicts which technologies are young and bring value to the merger, and which are old and due for an audit. Removing older inappropriate art by not paying maintenance fees would be one way for the merger to save money.