Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Feb. 28, 2020	Jun. 28, 2019
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Registrant Name	PDL BIOPHARMA, INC.
Document Type	10-K
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		123,591,824
Entity Public Float			$ 354,547,520
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000882104
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false