PTAB Statistics: Fiscal Year 2025

This page reports Patent Trial and Appeal Board trial activity in fiscal year 2025, which ran from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. 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	1,361	72	0	0	1,433
Institution decisions: instituted	554	26	0	0	580
Institution decisions: denied	624	18	0	1	643
Institution rate (by petition)	47.0%	59.1%	—	0.0%	47.4%
Final written decisions	413	16	0	0	429

Terminations without a final written decision	Count
Settlements	403
Settled before institution	181
Settled after institution	222
Adverse judgment	35
Dismissed	0
Other terminations	35

Figures by Trial Type in Detail

Inter Partes Review (IPR)

In FY2025, 1,361 IPR petitions were filed (95.0% of all AIA petitions). Of 1,178 IPR institution decisions, 554 instituted a trial and 624 denied institution, a rate of 47.0%. The Board issued 413 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 FY2025, 72 PGR petitions were filed (5.0% of all AIA petitions). Of 44 PGR institution decisions, 26 instituted a trial and 18 denied institution, a rate of 59.1%. The Board issued 16 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.

Derivation Proceedings (DER)

In FY2025, 0 DER petitions were filed (0.0% of all AIA petitions). Of 1 DER institution decisions, 0 instituted a trial and 1 denied institution, a rate of 0.0%. 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, 429 ended in a final written decision under 35 U.S.C. § 318, 403 in settlement under 35 U.S.C. § 317 (181 before institution and 222 after), 35 in adverse judgment, 0 by dismissal and 35 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.

Legal and Policy Context

During 2025 the USPTO withdrew the June 2022 interim guidance on discretionary denial and changed its procedures for deciding discretionary denial and institution. The fall in the institution rate in FY2025 and FY2026 coincides with those changes; consult the USPTO’s PTAB pages for current procedures.

These events are noted for context; the statistics alone do not show what caused any change.

Summary

• Inter partes review accounted for 95.0% of petitions filed.
• Petitions rose by 145 from FY2024 (1,288), a change of 11.3%.
• The institution rate fell by 22.3 percentage points from 69.7% in FY2024.
• By type, the institution rate was 47.0% for IPR petitions and 59.1% for PGR petitions.
• Of 902 proceedings that ended after institution or by settlement or other termination in the year, 429 (47.6%) ended in a final written decision.

Other Fiscal Years

FY2024 · FY2026 · 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.