PTAB activity soars by 112%, report shows

The number of cases filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in 2014 soared by more than 110% compared to the previous  year, a report has shown.

While US district courts handled 18% fewer cases across the same period, the number of proceedings at the PTAB increased by 112%.

According to the report, by research company Docket Navigator, there were 5,020 district court cases in 2014 compared to 6,107 in 2013, while there were 1,677 PTAB cases compared to 792 the previous year.

The number of “patent accusations” in district courts—which is the total patents asserted—fell from 29,798 to 25,089, the lowest number of accusations since 2009, according to the report.

At the PTAB the number of accusations increased from 1,609 to 4,413, it said. Google, LG and Microsoft were among the top PTAB filers, the report showed.

Formed in September 2012 as part of the America Invents Act, the PTAB is charged with issuing decisions on appeals against USPTO examiner decisions and handling post-issuance challenges to patents.

Technology company Apple and the American division of Samsung were the two most frequently accused defendants in district courts in 2014, the report said, with 47 and 41 cases filed against them respectively.

But the companies were also the top two petitioners at the PTAB, with 89 cases filed by Apple and 61 by Samsung’s global division.

Despite the falling number of patent cases in district courts, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas remained a popular destination for litigation last year. The court’s share of overall district court cases rose from 24.7% in 2013 to 28.6% in 2014.

The full report is available to download on Docket Navigator’s website.