PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one AIA trial proceeding on file for US Patent 10277728. The proceeding, IPR2025-01428, was terminated. This means the patent's claims remain untested by PTAB review.

IPR2025-01428 — [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) v. Messageloud Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-08-29
• Status: Terminated (Procedural Termination)
• Judge panel: Not publicly available yet.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available yet.
• Institution decision: Not publicly available yet.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not applicable. The proceeding was terminated before a Final Written Decision was issued.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated on 2026-04-15 due to a "Procedural Termination." The specific terms of termination are not publicly available, but procedural terminations often indicate a settlement or other agreement between the parties that led to the petition being withdrawn or dismissed.
• Appeal: Not applicable. No Final Written Decision was issued.
• Defensive value: This proceeding does not impact the patentability of the claims of US10277728 as it was terminated before a decision on the merits. All claims of the patent remain untested by this IPR.

Strategic summary

All claims of US Patent 10277728 remain untested by AIA trial proceedings. IPR2025-01428 was terminated before institution, meaning there has been no substantive review of the patent's claims by the PTAB.

Since the IPR was terminated prior to institution, there are no estoppel implications under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) for Apple Inc. (the petitioner) or its privies related to this specific IPR. This means that Apple, or any party in privity with them, would not be barred from bringing the same or new prior art grounds against the patent in future proceedings. All prior art grounds remain available for a defendant facing assertion of this patent today.

The termination of the IPR before institution, rather than a denial of institution or a final written decision, means there is no public record of the PTAB's initial assessment of the petition's merits. This provides no clear signal regarding the strength or weakness of the patent's claims.

Recommended next steps

As the IPR was terminated procedurally and no institution decision was rendered, there are no trial-stage milestones pending. The absence of a substantive PTAB decision means that the patent's claims are still valid and have not been challenged in an AIA trial proceeding to date.