PTAB Discretionary Denial Deep Dive
Tutorial Mode
What is the PTAB Discretionary Denial Deep Dive?
This dashboard tracks the USPTO's new two-step decision process for Inter Partes Review (IPR) and Post Grant Review (PGR) proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Here's how the two-step process works: Patent Owners start a discretionary denial phase by asking the Director to deny the petition before taking a deep look at whether the challenges in the petition are any good.
Petitioners can then file an opposition brief.
The Director—with input from PTAB judges—first decides whether to DENY the petition outright or REFER it for full merit-based review.
This new process aims to make PTAB proceedings more efficient and transparent.
The first graph shows the popularity of the new process to Patent Owners, while second graph shows decision outcomes and the Director's processing efficiency.
View the total number of Discretionary Denial briefs submitted by Patent Owners and the corresponding Opposition briefs filed by Petitioners.
Total Patent Owner Briefs:
0
Total Petitioner Briefs:
0
These counts reflect the total number of individual Director Discretionary Decision documents (Deny or Refer). We simply compute how many proceedings contain a decision and do not account for whether the decision applies to related proceedings.
Deny Decisions
(Proceedings):
0
Refer Decisions
(Proceedings):
0
All Decisions
(Proceedings):
0
When multiple related proceedings receive decisions on the same day, we count them as one decision to show distinct outcomes rather than document counts.
Deny Decisions
(Outcomes):
0
Refer Decisions
(Outcomes):
0
All Decisions
(Outcomes):
0
📖 Identifying Trends in IPR vs PGR Proceedings
The USPTO indicated that it favors PGRs, which can only be file within 9 months after issuance of a patent, over IPRs, which can be filed after the period for filing a PGR has elapsed.
The charts below seek to illuminate how the USPTO's favoritism plays out as a practical matter.
Like the Director Decisions (Proceedings) chart above, these charts count proceedings receiving Deny and Refer decisions for each proceeding type (IPR vs PGR).
IPR Deny
(Proceedings):
0
IPR Refer
(Proceedings):
0
PGR Deny
(Proceedings):
0
PGR Refer
(Proceedings):
0
Like the Director Decisions (Effective) chart above, these charts count effective decisions (grouping same-day related proceedings) receiving Deny and Refer decisions for each proceeding type (IPR vs PGR).
IPR Deny
(Effective):
0
IPR Refer
(Effective):
0
PGR Deny
(Effective):
0
PGR Refer
(Effective):
0
📋 Refer Decision Status Breakdown
When a Discretionary Denial Request results in a "Refer" decision from the Director, the Petition is referred for a determination of whether the Petition demonstrates a reasonable likelihood that the petitioner would establish the invalidity of a challenged claim. Possible outcomes of a "Refer" decision include:
• Institution Denied: The Director denies the Petition on the merits and no trial is instituted.
• Trial Instituted: The Director grants a full IPR trial.
• Pending: Cases awaiting the Director's decision after referral.
• Other: Cases resolved without a referral decision (settled, withdrawn, terminated, etc.).
Note: Percentages are calculated only based on referral decisions (Institution Denied vs. Trial Instituted) to show the success rate of petitions accurately by excluding cases that are still pending or had other dispositions.
📋 Refer Decision Status Breakdown (IPR Only)
This breakdown shows the status of refer decisions specifically for Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings.
📋 Refer Decision Status Breakdown (PGR Only)
This breakdown shows the status of refer decisions specifically for Post-Grant Review (PGR) proceedings.
This section provides the average number of days between the filing of a Petitioner's request and the Director's decision. The freshness indicators show when the USPTO's records were last checked and when the dashboard was last updated in response to fresh data.
Average Days to Decision:
N/A
API checked date:
N/A
Data last updated:
N/A
Identifies which parties were most successful with discretionary denial strategies. These rankings reveal which Patent Owners best leverage this process and which Petitioners most effectively thwart denial attempts.
Identifies the most successful lead counsel for a Patent Owner or Petitioner.
Groups and Solo Decisions
This table below groups proceedings as a single outcome when it is determined that decisions issued on the same day are related.
| Outcome | IPR Number | Petitioner | Patent Owner | Decision | Decision Date |
|---|
All Proceedings Data
This table provides the current status of all proceedings where a patent owner has filed a discretionary denial brief. When a decision is issued, the table provides a link to download the decision.
The Technology Center page provides insights into how different USPTO Technology Centers fare in the Discretionary Denial process.