Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Consolidated Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 250,727	$ 172,256	$ 131,829
Cost of revenues:
Inventor royalties	26,028	43,727	25,292
Contingent legal fees	24,651	40,281	19,906
Litigation and licensing expenses - patents	21,591	13,005	13,891
Amortization of patents	39,019	9,745	6,931
Verdict insurance proceeds	0	(12,451)	0
Verdict insurance proceeds related costs	0	7,661	0
Marketing, general and administrative expenses (including non-cash stock compensation expense of $25,657 in 2012, $13,579 in 2011, and $7,121 in 2010)	54,083	35,693	25,067
Research, consulting and other expenses - business development	4,943	4,338	2,121
Total operating costs and expenses	170,315	141,999	93,208
Operating income (loss)	80,412	30,257	38,621
Other Income	500	0	0
Investment Income, Interest	825	81	103
Asset Impairment Charges	(45)	0	0
Gain (Loss) on Investments	(343)	15	32
Total other income	937	96	135
Income (loss) from operations before provision for income taxes	81,349	30,353	38,756
Provision for income taxes	(22,060)	(8,708)	(1,740)
Net income (loss) including noncontrolling interests in operating subsidiaries	59,289	21,645	37,016
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests in operating subsidiaries	164	(539)	(2,965)
Net income (loss) attributable to Acacia Research Corporation	$ 59,453	$ 21,106	$ 34,051
Net income per common share attributable to Acacia Research Corporation:
Basic income per share	$ 1.26	$ 0.53	$ 1.05
Diluted income per share	$ 1.24	$ 0.51	$ 0.97
Weighted-average shares:
Weighted average number of shares outstanding, basic	47,251,061	39,743,433	32,306,322
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding, diluted	48,060,647	41,258,297	35,081,611