The Federal Circuit began the year by affirming most of the Final Written Decisions it considered on appeal from post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In January, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 18 cases (85.71%), including a precedential decision in Lynk Labs, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. (No. 23-2346). The court issued 2 mixed outcomes (9.52%) in which at least one issue was affirmed and at least one issue was not, including a precedential opinion in Apple Inc. v. Gesture Technology Partners, LLC (No. 23-1501), and did not dismiss any appeals on substantive (e.g., non-settlement) grounds. The court rendered 1 opinion where every issue was reversed or vacated (4.76%), which was a precedential opinion in Honeywell International Inc. v. 3G Licensing, S.A. (No. 23-1354).
Appellants from PTAB post-grant proceedings fared slightly better in February. The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 6 cases (66.67%), including a precedential opinion in HD Silicon Solutions LLC v. Microchip Technology Inc. (No. 23-1397). The court issued 2 opinions in which every issue was reversed or vacated (22.22%) and issued a mixed outcome in 1 appeal (11.11%). The court did not dismiss any cases on substantive (e.g., non-settlement) grounds.
Through February 28, 2025, the Federal Circuit cumulatively decided 1,412 appeals from the PTAB in IPRs, CBMs, and PGRs. While the vast majority of these appeals came from IPR proceedings, the number of PGR appeals has slowly increased over time.
In IPR appeals, the Federal Circuit has cumulatively affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 998 cases (74.92%) and reversed or vacated the PTAB on every issue in 160 cases (12.01%). A mixed outcome on appeal occurred in 134 cases (10.06%), and the court dismissed 40 IPR appeals (3%) without rendering a decision on the merits.
In PGR appeals, the Federal Circuit cumulatively affirmed the PTAB on every issue in 19 cases (73.08%), issued a mixed outcome in 3 cases (11.54%), and reversed or vacated every issue in 4 cases (15.38%). No PGR appeals have been dismissed on substantive (e.g., non-settlement) grounds.
Taken together, in decisions for IPR, CBM, and PGR appeals, the Federal Circuit affirmed every issue in 1058 cases (74.93%), issued a mixed outcome in 141 cases (9.99%), reversed or vacated every issue in 169 cases (11.97%), and dismissed 44 cases (3.12%) on substantive grounds.
Of the 1,412 IPR, CBM, and PGR cumulative appeals that it has considered, the Federal Circuit issued Rule 36 affirmances in 599 cases (42.42%). The court issued written opinions, including affirmances, reversals, dismissals, and mixed decisions, in 813 cases (57.58%). The ratio of Rule 36 affirmances to written decisions has generally trended downward over time and further declined through this January and February.
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