The new USPTO post grant review procedures under the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are rapidly approaching the two and a half year mark. Over that time they have been the subject of extensive analysis and discussion looking at the different types of proceedings available, their effectiveness, and their implications for the system. However, until now it has been relatively difficult to get the data necessary for a comprehensive bulk analysis.

Recently, Patexia launched an addition to its Lawsuit Database. Based on the new data available, as of February 27th, there have been a total of 2,869 petitions filed with the PTAB, 2,553 of which were IPRs. Of those, a growing percentage overall is filed by top petitioners. For example, 21.9% of IPRs were filed by the top ten petitioners in 2013, which increased to 24% in 2014.

Percentage of IPRs filed by the top 10 petitioners as a percentage of total (2013 vs. 2014)

Percentage of IPRs filed by the top 10 petitioners as a percentage of total (2013 vs. 2014)

Looking beyond the percentages filed by specific petitioners, each progressive year has seen growth in the number of IPRs. In 2013 a total of 702 IPRs were filed. That number more than doubled to 1,501 IPRs in 2014. Looking at the number of IPRs filed each year in the month of January, filings have progressed from 26 in 2013, to 60 in 2014, and most recently 100 in 2015. That is a year over year growth rate of 130% and 67%, respectively.

Monthly Comparison of IPRs filed in 2013 vs. 2014

Monthly Comparison of IPRs filed in 2013 vs. 2014

An interesting trend that caught our attention was the top petitioners for the last two years. As shown in the figure, Apple holds the top spot with a considerable lead both years. Perhaps not surprisingly, Samsung, Microsoft, and Google, are also in the top ten for both 2013 and 2014. One interesting observation in 2013 was activity of Automotive companies and in particular appearance of TRW Automotive and Toyota in the top ten.

Top 10 Petitioners in 2013

Some petitioners such as Apple remain at the top of the list due to their regular use of IPRs across a variety of situations. However, some companies are present due to specific circumstances. Gillette, for example, is an interesting anomaly among the other top petitioners in 2014. Gillette filed 33 IPRs in total in 2014, all of them between March and June, and all against a single company, Zond Inc. That one spate of filings was enough to put them among the top overall petitioners for the year.

Top 10 Petitioners in 2014

Not all industries are represented equally in IPR filings. Looking at the data for all IPRs up through February 15th 2015, electrical and computer related patents represent more than half of all filed IPRs. Mechanical and business method patents represent around a quarter, followed by bio/pharma patents and chemical patents with less than 10% each. This is in line with the top filers which are heavily in electrical or computer related fields.

IPRs by INdustry

IPRs and other post grant review proceedings are clearly facing ongoing industry demand, with filings showing no sign of decline in the near future. Continuing to keep a careful watch on key industries and petitioners will be a valuable indicator for IP trends, including which industries are experiencing upheaval, and which companies are in the heat of the action.

A version of this blog was posted on IAM Magazine under the title Apple, Samsung and Google the most frequent filers of IPR petitions, new research shows