Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Revenues	$ 64,658,000	$ 12,994,000	$ 130,730,000	$ 87,540,000
Operating costs and expenses
Inventor royalties	17,844,000	116,000	19,417,000	10,706,000
Contingent legal fees	7,709,000	1,972,000	22,236,000	12,268,000
Litigation and licensing expenses - patents	7,348,000	10,345,000	22,395,000	28,032,000
Amortization of patents	6,467,000	13,688,000	27,986,000	39,954,000
General and administrative expenses (including non-cash stock compensation expense of $2,544 and $5,754 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, and $2,164 and $8,588 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively)	8,334,000	9,442,000	23,863,000	29,604,000
Research, consulting and other expenses - business development	666,000	802,000	2,522,000	2,531,000
Impairment of patent-related intangible assets	0	0	40,165,000	0
Other expenses	0	3,465,000	500,000	3,891,000
Total operating costs and expenses	48,368,000	39,830,000	159,084,000	126,986,000
Operating income (loss)	16,290,000	(26,836,000)	(28,354,000)	(39,446,000)
Total other income (expense)	261,000	(180,000)	206,000	(56,000)
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes	16,551,000	(27,016,000)	(28,148,000)	(39,502,000)
Provision for income taxes	(9,655,000)	(337,000)	(15,774,000)	(626,000)
Income (loss) including noncontrolling interests in operating subsidiaries	6,896,000	(27,353,000)	(43,922,000)	(40,128,000)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in operating subsidiaries	186,000	43,000	466,000	(3,998,000)
Net loss attributable to Acacia Research Corporation	7,082,000	(27,310,000)	(43,456,000)	(44,126,000)
Net loss available to common stockholders, basic	$ 7,043,000	$ (27,450,000)	$ (43,456,000)	$ (44,691,000)
Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted	$ 0.14	$ (0.55)	$ (0.87)	$ (0.90)
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Basic	50,124,302	49,630,369	50,024,047	49,423,548
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding, Diluted	50,618,757	49,630,369	50,024,047	49,423,548
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Cash Paid	$ 0.000	$ 0.125	$ 0.000	$ 0.375