PALO ALTO — In the patent world, the rich are getting richer while the poor settle for middling amounts.

Data presented Tuesday by analytics firm Lex Machina show that some $15 billion in patent damages have been awarded in U.S. courts over the last 14 years. The 10 largest awards, including three for $1 billion or more, account for nearly half that amount. But the median compensatory award was around $400,000, far less than the typical cost of litigating a patent case to verdict.