PTAB Statistics: Fiscal Year 2015

This page reports Patent Trial and Appeal Board trial activity in fiscal year 2015, which ran from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. Each figure is a count of USPTO Open Data Portal records; the methodology on the statistics page explains the counting rules.

Figures by Trial Type

Petitions are counted by filing date. Institution decisions, final written decisions and terminations are counted by the date of the event, so a petition filed in one fiscal year may be decided in the next.

Measure	IPR	PGR	CBM	DER	Total
Petitions filed	1,737	11	149	3	1,900
Institution decisions: instituted	900	3	104	0	1,007
Institution decisions: denied	689	2	54	0	745
Institution rate (by petition)	56.6%	60.0%	65.8%	—	57.5%
Final written decisions	458	0	65	0	523

Terminations without a final written decision	Count
Settlements	280
Adverse judgment	0
Dismissed	0
Other terminations	33

Records for this period do not distinguish settlements before institution from those after it, so only the total is shown.

Figures by Trial Type in Detail

Inter Partes Review (IPR)

In FY2015, 1,737 IPR petitions were filed (91.4% of all AIA petitions). Of 1,589 IPR institution decisions, 900 instituted a trial and 689 denied institution, a rate of 56.6%. The Board issued 458 IPR final written decisions. An IPR may be instituted only on a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner will prevail on at least one claim (35 U.S.C. § 314(a)), on grounds of anticipation or obviousness over patents and printed publications. See the inter partes review guide for the procedure.

Post-Grant Review (PGR)

In FY2015, 11 PGR petitions were filed (0.6% of all AIA petitions). Of 5 PGR institution decisions, 3 instituted a trial and 2 denied institution, a rate of 60.0%. The Board issued 0 PGR final written decisions. A PGR petition must be filed within nine months of grant and must show that it is more likely than not that at least one claim is unpatentable (35 U.S.C. § 324(a)). See the post-grant review guide for the procedure.

Covered Business Method Review (CBM)

In FY2015, 149 CBM petitions were filed (7.8% of all AIA petitions). Of 158 CBM institution decisions, 104 instituted a trial and 54 denied institution, a rate of 65.8%. The Board issued 65 CBM final written decisions. CBM review applied to covered business method patents and closed to new petitions on September 16, 2020. See the covered business method review guide for the procedure.

Derivation Proceedings (DER)

In FY2015, 3 DER petitions were filed (0.2% of all AIA petitions). No DER institution decisions were recorded. The Board issued 0 DER final written decisions. Derivation proceedings decide whether an inventor named in an earlier application derived the claimed invention from the petitioner’s inventor; they are few in number, so rates rest on small counts. See the guide to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for the procedure.

How Proceedings Ended

Of the proceedings that ended during the period, 523 ended in a final written decision under 35 U.S.C. § 318, 280 in settlement under 35 U.S.C. § 317, 0 in adverse judgment, 0 by dismissal and 33 by other termination. Denials of institution are counted separately above. A final written decision can lead to estoppel against the petitioner; see estoppel arising from PTAB trials.

Summary

• Inter partes review accounted for 91.4% of petitions filed.
• Petitions rose by 407 from FY2014 (1,493), a change of 27.3%.
• The institution rate fell by 7.1 percentage points from 64.6% in FY2014.
• By type, the institution rate was 56.6% for IPR petitions and 60.0% for PGR petitions and 65.8% for CBM petitions.
• Of 836 proceedings that ended after institution or by settlement or other termination in the year, 523 (62.6%) ended in a final written decision.

Statistics by Date in FY2015

Figures as of specific dates in this fiscal year, reconstructed from the same records:

• PTAB trial statistics as of October 2, 2014: 12 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of October 30, 2014: 183 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of November 13, 2014: 258 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of November 27, 2014: 311 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of December 4, 2014: 333 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of December 18, 2014: 415 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of January 1, 2015: 504 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of February 5, 2015: 676 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of February 19, 2015: 750 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of March 5, 2015: 824 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of April 9, 2015: 984 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of April 30, 2015: 1,092 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of May 14, 2015: 1,171 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of June 4, 2015: 1,297 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of June 30, 2015: 1,459 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of July 31, 2015: 1,582 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of August 31, 2015: 1,759 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date
• PTAB trial statistics as of September 30, 2015: 1,900 petitions filed in FY2015 to that date

Other Fiscal Years

FY2014 · FY2016 · All fiscal years and charts

Final written decision outcomes (all, some or no challenged claims unpatentable) are not reported because the USPTO records state them for too few decisions; see the methodology. Figures may differ from the USPTO’s published reports. For how trials end and why reported rates differ, see reading PTAB trial outcomes.