Despite the headline-grabbing awards in patent infringement cases, recoveries actually have been fairly few and far between and, for the most part, not that big, according to a first-of-its-kind study released on Wednesday.

Lex Machina, a legal analytics firm in Menlo Park, Calif., found that compensatory damages were awarded in fewer than 2 percent of patent infringement cases during the past 14 years. Of those, 90 percent came to $25.4 million or less, with the median award totaling $372,000.