Federal Circuit PTAB Appeal Statistics Through May 31, 2020

Through May 31, 2020, the Federal Circuit decided 740 PTAB appeals from IPRs and CBMs.  The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 541 (73.11%) cases and reversed or vacated the PTAB on every issue in 101 (13.65%) cases.  A mixed outcome on appeal, where at least one issue was affirmed and at least one issue was vacated or reversed, occurred in 70 (9.46%) cases. 

The court also dismissed 28 (3.78%) appeals without rendering a decision on the merits.  Dismissals may occur, for example, where the Federal Circuit determines that it does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal, such as in certain appeals from PTAB institution decisions.    

Breaking down the numbers further, in its appeals from IPRs, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 505 (72.87%) cases, reversed or vacated the PTAB on every issue in 97 (14%) cases, issued a mixed outcome in 67 (9.67%) cases, and dismissed 24 (3.46%) cases. 

In CBM appeals, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 36 (76.60%) cases, issued a mixed outcome in 3 (6.38%) cases, dismissed 4 (8.51%) cases, and reversed or vacated the PTAB on every issue in 4 (8.51%) cases.

An important tool helping the Federal Circuit manage its significant docket of PTAB appeals is the Rule 36 affirmance, through which the court affirms the PTAB without rendering a full, written opinion.  Of the 740 IPR and CBM appeals it has considered thus far, the Federal Circuit issued Rule 36 affirmances in 338 (45.68%) cases.  The court issued written opinions, including affirmances, reversals, dismissals, and mixed decisions, in 402 (54.32%) cases.  The number of issued Rule 36 affirmances has generally trended downward over time.

The summary affirmance rate for IPR appeals closely tracks the combined average with CBMs, perhaps unsurprisingly due to the relatively high proportion of appeals from IPR proceedings.  The Federal Circuit issued written decisions in 375 (54.11%) IPR appeals, and issued summary affirmances in 318 (45.89%) appeals.

The summary affirmance rate for CBM appeals, however, is currently somewhat lower than in IPRs.  The Federal Circuit issued summary affirmances in 20 (42.55%) CBM appeals, and issued written decisions in 27 (57.45%) CBM appeals.

Stay tuned to the AIA Blog for the latest updates, analysis, and statistics on all aspects of PTAB and Federal Circuit practice.  Subscribe to the AIA Blog at the bottom of the page to receive notifications of new posts via email.