IPR and CBM Statistics for Final Written Decisions Issued in December 2020 and January 2021

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued 28 IPR and CBM Final Written Decisions in December, including decisions following remands from the Federal Circuit, cancelling 243 (61.06%) instituted claims while maintaining the patentability of 143 (35.93%) instituted claims.  Patent owners conceded 12 (3.02%) instituted claims through motions to amend or disclaimer in cases reaching a final decision.  For comparison, the cumulative average rate of instituted claims cancelled in IPR and CBM Final Written Decisions is about 73%.

On a per-case basis, no instituted or substitute claims survived in 16 (57.14%) decisions, all instituted claims survived in 8 (28.57%) decisions, and a mixed outcome occurred in 4 (14.29%) decisions.  A mixed outcome occurs where at least one instituted or substitute claim remains patentable, and at least one is cancelled, in a Final Written Decision. 

In January, a relatively difficult month for patent owners, the PTAB issued 51 IPR and CBM Final Written Decisions, cancelling 541 (83.88%) instituted claims while maintaining the patentability of 85 (13.18%) instituted claims.  Patent owners conceded 19 (2.95%) claims through motions to amend or disclaimer in cases reaching a final decision. 

On a per-case basis, no instituted or substitute claims survived in 37 (72.55%) decisions, all instituted claims survived in 4 (7.84%) decisions, and a mixed outcome occurred in 10 (19.61%) decisions. 

The overall cumulative instituted claim survival rate, broken down by technology center, is as follows:

More detailed cumulative statistics on the Board’s IPR and CBM decisions, updated through January 31, 2021, are available here on the AIA Blog. 

Statistics regarding the outcome of appeals to the Federal Circuit are available here.

Numbers of final written decisions by technology center and instituted claim survival rates by technology center are available here. 

Various other PTAB metrics collected and generated by Finnegan are reserved for the use of Finnegan and its clients.  Stay tuned to the At the PTAB Blog for the latest updates, analysis, and statistics on all aspects of PTAB and Federal Circuit practice.  Subscribe to the At the PTAB Blog to receive notifications of new posts via email.