August 30, 2021
Authored and Edited by Daniel F. Klodowski; Michael R. Galgano; Zachery D. Olah; Aaron L. Parker; Elliot C. Cook
In June, a relatively favorable month for patent owners, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued 35 IPR, CBM, and PGR Final Written Decisions including decisions following remands from the Federal Circuit, cancelling 258 (48.86%) instituted claims while maintaining the patentability of 247 (46.78%) instituted claims. Patent owners conceded 23 (4.36%) 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, CBM, and PGR Final Written Decisions is about 73%.

On a per-case basis, no instituted or substitute claims survived in 6 (17.14%) decisions, all instituted claims survived in 10 (28.57%) decisions, and a mixed outcome occurred in 19 (54.29%) 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 July, which in contrast to June was a relatively favorable month for patent challengers, the PTAB issued 21 IPR, CBM, and PGR Final Written Decisions, cancelling 170 (82.52%) instituted claims while maintaining the patentability of 25 (12.14%) instituted claims. Patent owners conceded 11 (5.34%) 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 16 (76.19%) decisions, all instituted claims survived in 3 (14.29%) decisions, and a mixed outcome occurred in 2 (9.52%) decisions.

The overall cumulative instituted claim survival rate in IPRs, CBMs, and PGRs, broken down by technology center, is as follows:

More detailed cumulative statistics on the Board’s IPR, CBM, and PGR decisions, updated through July 31, 2021, are available here on the At the PTAB 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.
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