PTAB Caseload Falls Below 2,000 for First Time in Over Two Decades as Squires Reforms Reshape U.S. Patent Challenge Landscape

The total caseload at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has dropped below 2,000 for the first time in the Board’s history. As of March 31, 2026, pending ex parte appeals stood at 1,866, according to data released by Acting PTAB Vice Chief Judge Stacey White. Average pendency has plummeted from 28 months as of May 2025 to approximately nine months—a milestone that reflects the sweeping institutional changes initiated under USPTO Director John Squires.

IPR Institution Rate Falls 43% Under Director Squires

Since Director Squires took office in late 2024, the institution rate for inter partes review (IPR) petitions has sharply declined. The rate stood at approximately 65% in October 2024; by February 2026, it had fallen to roughly 37%—a reduction of approximately 43% over 17 months.

IPR filings in Q1 2026 fell 66.3% year over year to 131 petitions, a historic low. Total AIA trial petitions (IPR, PGR, and CBM combined) declined 64.2% year over year. Pending petitions reached a 12-year low of 815 in March 2026.

The central driver is Director Squires’ aggressive use of discretionary denial. In Tianma Microelectronics Co., Ltd. v. LG Display Co., Ltd. (IPR2025-01579), decided in April 2026, Director Squires denied institution on the grounds that a foreign government is not permitted to be a petitioner in AIA proceedings. In Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Dynamic Mesh Networks, Inc. (IPR2025-01303), institution was denied following the patent owner’s filing of a statutory disclaimer, with the Director noting that denying institution under such circumstances constitutes a more efficient use of agency resources.

Ex Parte Reexamination Surges as IPR Retreats

As IPR activity contracts, ex parte reexamination requests have surged. Q1 2026 filings jumped 157.1% compared to the same period in 2025. For the second consecutive quarter, ex parte reexamination requests outnumbered new PTAB petitions, and the volume of Q1 2026 requests already represents roughly one-third of all 2025 filings.

The USPTO responded on April 1, 2026, with a new pre-order procedure: patent owners may now submit a fee-free paper of up to 30 pages within 30 days of being served with a reexamination request, arguing that no Substantial New Question of patentability (SNQ) has been raised. The procedure provides patent owners an early mechanism to contest reexamination before the Office decides whether to order proceedings.

Practitioners have nonetheless expressed concern about the potential for abusive serial challenges. Repeat reexamination requests targeting the same patent could function as a harassment tool against patent owners, and calls for additional USPTO rulemaking on this point are growing.

Broader Litigation Trends

According to Unified Patents’ Patent Dispute Report for Q1 2026, published April 14, 2026, district court patent filings also fell 21.6% year over year in Q1, suggesting that PTAB reforms are dampening broader patent litigation activity beyond the Board itself.

Director Squires testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet on March 25, 2026, emphasizing the USPTO’s deployment of AI tools in patent and trademark examination as part of its strategy to reduce backlogs.

The IPR system has served as the primary validity challenge forum since the America Invents Act took effect in 2012. The current collapse in petition volume is reigniting debate over the system’s institutional design and is already prompting legislative scrutiny. International practitioners who have relied on PTAB proceedings as a cost-effective complement to U.S. district court litigation should take note: the balance of power between patent owners and challengers has shifted substantially under the Squires directorship.