Q1 2026 Patent Dispute Report: PTAB Filings Plunge 64% as ITC Section 337 Complaints Surge 70%

Patent dispute statistics for the first quarter of 2026 reveal a dramatic structural shift in U.S. patent enforcement venues. Inter partes review (IPR) petitions before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) fell 66.3% year-over-year to a historic low, while Section 337 complaints filed at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) surged 70% over the same period. The diverging trends reflect the direct impact of USPTO policy changes on where patent challengers and owners choose to litigate.

PTAB Filing Collapse

According to Unified Patents’ Patent Dispute Report for Q1 2026 and analysis by IAM, total PTAB petitions for the quarter fell 64.2% year-over-year to 131 — the lowest since the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) created the IPR mechanism in 2012. IPR petitions specifically plummeted 66.3% year-over-year.

The collapse reflects the cumulative effect of several policy shifts under Director John Squires. The “settled expectations” doctrine, introduced in late 2025, effectively raised the bar for IPR challenges against patents issued many years ago. Challengers are also deterred by the November 2025 Federal Circuit decision in In re Motorola Solutions, Inc., which indicated that the Director’s discretionary decisions to institute or de-institute IPR proceedings may be shielded from judicial review.

In a striking counterpoint, ex parte reexamination requests surged 157.1% year-over-year in Q1 2026, signaling that patent challengers are pivoting toward this alternative mechanism as IPR access narrows. Quarter-over-quarter, IPRs fell 35.4% from Q4 2025 levels while ex parte reexaminations also declined 21.2% sequentially — but the year-over-year contrast is stark.

ITC Section 337 Surge

While PTAB filings collapsed, the ITC saw a 70% surge in new Section 337 complaints in Q1 2026. U.S. district court patent filings fell 19% year-over-year over the same period, further concentrating patent enforcement at the ITC.

The ITC’s rising prominence stems from multiple factors. The Federal Circuit’s March 2025 Lashify decision significantly broadened the domestic industry requirement’s economic prong, opening ITC doors to foreign companies, small entities, and non-practicing entities (NPEs) that previously could not meet the threshold. Patent owners increasingly view the ITC’s exclusion orders — import bans — as more commercially significant than monetary damages obtainable in district court, particularly given the difficulty of obtaining injunctions post-eBay.

District Court Trends

Federal district court patent filings declined 19% year-over-year in Q1 2026. While the decline is smaller than PTAB’s 64%, it reflects some respondents’ strategic recalibration. With IPR access narrowed, accused infringers who previously filed IPR petitions as an early defensive response must now rely more heavily on district court invalidity defenses or ex parte reexamination.

Outlook

If the current trend continues, U.S. patent litigation practice faces a fundamental reshaping. For patent owners, the ITC — with its exclusion-order remedy and broadened domestic industry standing under Lashify — is becoming the forum of choice for high-value enforcement. For accused infringers, the loss of IPR as a reliable invalidity tool narrows available options. Both sides will need to reassess their patent dispute strategies in light of this structural shift.