PTAB Trends: The Major and Emerging Players

When it comes to PTAB proceedings, who are the major players? Which companies are filing the most – and which appear to be ramping up their litigation?

This fall marks the tenth anniversary of post-grant proceedings at the PTAB, and some interesting trends have emerged regarding which technologies, firms, and expert witnesses have been most active when it comes to IPR, PGR, and CBM. This ongoing series will examine these trends to help you grow your post-grant practice, hire the best experts, and optimize litigation at the PTAB. See a sneak peek of the data in our on-demand webinar, and make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter for the latest. 

Using the same database that powers Juristat PTAB Expert Search, we analyzed disposed PTAB trials with initial filing dates between 2017-2021. This analysis covers nearly 6,000 trials and more than 2,000 assignees. This research was conducted in September 2022. 

Top Petitioners at the PTAB

Here, we name the assignees who initiated the most PTAB cases during that five-year period of 2017-2021, ranked by the number disposed trials. 

Top Owners at the PTAB

When it comes to the list of Top Owners in PTAB proceedings, the ranking is a bit less straightforward due to the prolificity of non-practicing entities (NPEs). For example, take a look at the initial list of Top Owners, ranked by their number of disposed trials: 

While we see companies such as Pfizer, Ericsson, and Blackberry on the list, it is also flooded with NPEs. Let’s look at that same ranking but with NPEs excluded. 

The Emerging Players at the PTAB 

Perhaps the more interesting list is that of the up-and-comers. These are the assignees either growing their PTAB filings or being hit with more and more litigation – and if you are a firm, the companies you’ll want to work with to grow your practice. 

For this analysis, we defined “emerging” as entities with an above-average number of disposed trials in 2021, ranked by their percent change in trials from 2017 to 2021. 

Here are the Emerging Petitioners: 

Here are the Emerging Owners, excluding NPEs: 

You can take a deeper look at this data in our on-demand webinar, What's Trending at the PTAB: The Top Firms, Companies, Experts and More. 

If you are active in PTAB proceedings, the major players highlighted here may not surprise you. But hopefully, it offers some valuable insight on where your company or your client falls comparatively, or, for intellectual property firms, where the opportunity lies to grow your litigation practice. 

One way to improve your PTAB litigation is to ditch the recruiter fees and identify expert witnesses independently, based on data. An annual subscription to Juristat PTAB Expert Search is one-third the cost of recruiters, and will both lower and fix costs associated with PTAB cases. Want to see our PTAB Expert Search in action? Schedule a demo.