PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding is on file for US patent 10083154, with a status of Pending. This means the patent's claims are currently undergoing review, and a defensive posture cannot be fully determined until the institution decision and any subsequent Final Written Decision.

IPR2026-00281 — Google LLC et al. v. SoftView LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-03-05
• Status: Pending. This proceeding is active and has not yet reached a final institution decision or a Final Written Decision.
• Judge panel: Not yet publicly available in the current phase of the proceeding.
• Petition grounds: The petition challenged claims 1-12 of U.S. Patent No. 10,083,154, asserting unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (obviousness) in view of various combinations of prior art, specifically:
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,691,159 (Ben-Shaul).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0073587 (Schirmer).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0076043 (Rosenberg).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,366,293 (Kim).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,356,280 (Mandeville).
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the institution decision is 2026-09-05.
• Final Written Decision: Not applicable as the institution decision has not yet been issued.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable.
• Appeal: Not applicable.
• Defensive value: This proceeding indicates active challenge against claims 1-12. If institution is granted, these claims will be subject to a PTAB trial. If institution is denied, it would strengthen the patent owner's position for the challenged claims.

Strategic summary

All claims (claims 1-12) of US patent 10083154 are currently UNTESTED by a Final Written Decision but are UNDER REVIEW in an active Inter Partes Review, IPR2026-00281, filed by Google LLC et al. This IPR challenges the patentability of all claims under obviousness grounds.

The estoppel landscape is currently developing. If IPR2026-00281 proceeds to a Final Written Decision, Google LLC et al. (and their privies) would be estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting in future district court or ITC actions any invalidity grounds they raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. Until then, these specific prior art grounds are actively being litigated at the PTAB.

The fact that Google LLC et al., a significant player in the tech industry, has filed this IPR suggests they believe the patent is vulnerable. This is a common pattern where a party facing assertion or anticipating assertion challenges the underlying patent at the PTAB.

Recommended next steps

Given that IPR2026-00281 is pending, the most critical upcoming milestone is the institution decision deadline on 2026-09-05. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor this decision.

• If the PTAB institutes review, it would significantly impact the patent owner's ability to assert claims 1-12, as these claims would be undergoing trial.
• If the PTAB denies institution, it would mean that claims 1-12 have survived this initial challenge, potentially hardening them against similar obviousness arguments in the future.

Access the status and documents for IPR2026-00281 at the USPTO PTAB End-to-End system (E2E) here: https://e2e.uspto.gov/ptab/#!/dashboard/IPR2026-00281.## Proceedings overview
One AIA trial proceeding is on file for US patent 10083154, with a status of Pending. This means the patent's claims are currently undergoing review, and a defensive posture cannot be fully determined until the institution decision and any subsequent Final Written Decision.

IPR2026-00281 — Google LLC et al. v. SoftView LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-03-05
• Status: Pending. This proceeding is active and has not yet reached a final institution decision or a Final Written Decision. The statutory deadline for the institution decision is 2026-09-05.
• Judge panel: Not yet publicly available in the current phase of the proceeding.
• Petition grounds: The petition challenged claims 1-12 of U.S. Patent No. 10,083,154, asserting unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. § 103 (obviousness) in view of various combinations of prior art. These combinations include:
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,691,159 (Ben-Shaul).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0073587 (Schirmer).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0076043 (Rosenberg).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,366,293 (Kim).
  • Claims 1-12 as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 7,461,353 (Sherman) in view of U.S. Patent No. 6,356,280 (Mandeville).
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the institution decision is 2026-09-05.
• Final Written Decision: Not applicable as the institution decision has not yet been issued.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable.
• Appeal: Not applicable.
• Defensive value: This proceeding indicates an active challenge against claims 1-12. If institution is granted, these claims will be subject to a PTAB trial, which could lead to their invalidation. If institution is denied, it would strengthen the patent owner's position for the challenged claims, making an IPR-based defense harder for others on similar grounds.

Strategic summary

All claims (claims 1-12) of US patent 10083154 are currently UNTESTED by a Final Written Decision but are UNDER REVIEW in an active Inter Partes Review, IPR2026-00281, filed by Google LLC et al. This IPR challenges the patentability of all claims under obviousness grounds.

The estoppel landscape is currently developing. If IPR2026-00281 proceeds to a Final Written Decision, Google LLC et al. (and their privies) would be estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting in future district court or ITC actions any invalidity grounds they raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. Until then, these specific prior art grounds are actively being litigated at the PTAB.

The fact that Google LLC et al., a significant player in the tech industry, has filed this IPR suggests they believe the patent is vulnerable. This is a common pattern where a party facing assertion or anticipating assertion challenges the underlying patent at the PTAB. It is also important to note that as of late 2025, the USPTO Director, not PTAB panels, has been solely responsible for deciding whether to institute each IPR and PGR, taking into account discretionary considerations, the merits of the petition, and non-discretionary considerations. Additionally, a March 2026 memo by Director John Squires directs the PTAB to weigh U.S. manufacturing activity when deciding whether to institute an AIA trial, which can influence institution decisions.

Recommended next steps

Given that IPR2026-00281 is pending, the most critical upcoming milestone is the institution decision deadline on 2026-09-05. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor this decision.

• If the PTAB institutes review, it would significantly impact the patent owner's ability to assert claims 1-12, as these claims would be undergoing trial.
• If the PTAB denies institution, it would mean that claims 1-12 have survived this initial challenge, potentially hardening them against similar obviousness arguments in the future.

Access the status and documents for IPR2026-00281 at the USPTO PTAB End-to-End system (E2E) here: https://e2e.uspto.gov/ptab/#!/dashboard/IPR2026-00281.