Cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities valued at fair value.

No definition available.

Name:	pdli_CashCashEquivalentsAndAvailableForSaleSecuritesFairValueDisclosure
Namespace Prefix:	pdli_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount before tax of unrealized gain in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) on investments in debt and equity securities classified as available-for-sale.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82897076&loc=d3e27161-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesAccumulatedGrossUnrealizedGainBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

This item represents the cost of debt and equity securities, which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading, net of adjustments including accretion, amortization, collection of cash, previous other-than-temporary impairments recognized in earnings (less any cumulative-effect adjustments recognized, as defined), and fair value hedge accounting adjustments, if any.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesAmortizedCost
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale), classified as current.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109979856&loc=d3e26626-111562

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleSecuritiesDebtSecuritiesCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. Includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits. Also includes short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Excludes cash and cash equivalents within disposal group and discontinued operation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3044-108585

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82887183&loc=d3e6676-107765

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfAvailableForSaleSecuritiesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_CashAndCashEquivalentsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_MoneyMarketFundsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_EquitySecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Cash Equivalents and Investments (Summary of Cash and Available-For-Sale Securities) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Schedule of Available-For-Sale Securities [Line Items]
Adjusted Cost	$ 394,590	$ 530,619
Available-for-sale Securities, Accumulated Gross Unrealized Gain, before Tax	0	1,495
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Available-for-Sale Securities, Fair Value	394,590	532,114
Cash and Cash Equivalents	394,590	527,266	$ 147,154	$ 218,883
Short-Term Marketable Securities	0	4,848
Cash [Member]
Schedule of Available-For-Sale Securities [Line Items]
Adjusted Cost	167,871	109,703
Available-for-sale Securities, Accumulated Gross Unrealized Gain, before Tax	0	0
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Available-for-Sale Securities, Fair Value	167,871	109,703
Cash and Cash Equivalents	167,871	109,703
Short-Term Marketable Securities	0	0
Money Market Funds [Member]
Schedule of Available-For-Sale Securities [Line Items]
Adjusted Cost	226,719	417,563
Available-for-sale Securities, Accumulated Gross Unrealized Gain, before Tax	0	0
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Available-for-Sale Securities, Fair Value	226,719	417,563
Cash and Cash Equivalents	226,719	417,563
Short-Term Marketable Securities	$ 0	0
Equity Securities [Member]
Schedule of Available-For-Sale Securities [Line Items]
Adjusted Cost		3,353
Available-for-sale Securities, Accumulated Gross Unrealized Gain, before Tax		1,495
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Available-for-Sale Securities, Fair Value		4,848
Cash and Cash Equivalents		0
Short-Term Marketable Securities		$ 4,848