PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

One Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding, IPR2026-00217, is currently pending against US Patent 10,426,633. The claims of the patent remain untested by a final written decision, indicating that no claims have been invalidated or sustained by the PTAB yet. This means the patent's validity, as challenged by the petitioner, is still being adjudicated.

IPR2026-00217 — Medtronic, Inc. v. Moskowitz Family LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-01-16
• Status: Pending – The proceeding is active and has not yet reached a final determination on the merits.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific judge panel is not publicly available at this stage.
• Petition grounds: Details of which specific claims were challenged and under what prior art (e.g., § 102 for anticipation or § 103 for obviousness) by Medtronic, Inc. are not publicly available in the provided data.
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. Given the filing date of 2026-01-16, the statutory deadline for the institution decision is generally one year from the filing date of the petition (or six months from preliminary response filing, but the statutory limit for institution is one year from the petition filing), meaning it is expected around 2027-01-16. However, the Google Patents page for US10426633 states the PTAB case IPR2026-00217 was filed and is Pending, and last modified 2026-05-15, which might indicate some update in the process.
• Final Written Decision: Not issued, as the proceeding is pending.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as the proceeding is pending.
• Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This IPR proceeding represents a live challenge to the patent's validity. Until an institution decision or a Final Written Decision is issued, all claims remain potentially vulnerable to cancellation. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should monitor this proceeding closely, as an institution or a favorable final decision could significantly weaken the patent owner's position.

Strategic summary

Currently, all claims of US Patent 10,426,633 are untested by any PTAB Final Written Decision. The single Inter Partes Review, IPR2026-00217, filed by Medtronic, Inc., is in its early stages and is still pending an institution decision. Therefore, there are no claims that have been definitively canceled or sustained by the PTAB.

The estoppel landscape has not yet been established. Since no institution decision has been rendered, and certainly no Final Written Decision, the provisions of § 315(e)(2) regarding estoppel for petitioners (and their privies) have not come into effect for any claims of this patent. Consequently, all prior-art grounds remain available to a potential defendant, subject to the outcome of IPR2026-00217.

There are no discernible pattern signals of multiple IPRs by the same petitioner, nor any indication of aggressive PTAB appeals by the patent owner, as this is the first and only reported AIA trial proceeding for this patent. The involvement of Medtronic, Inc. as a petitioner suggests a significant interest in challenging the patent's validity, as they are a major player in the medical device field.

Recommended next steps

As IPR2026-00217 is currently pending, the immediate focus should be on tracking its progress. The key upcoming milestone is the institution decision, which is expected around 2027-01-16. This decision will determine if the PTAB will proceed to a full trial on the challenged claims. A defendant should closely monitor the USPTO PTAB E2E system for updates, specifically the petition, patent owner preliminary response, and the institution decision itself.

• Review the IPR2026-00217 docket on the USPTO PTAB E2E portal to access public filings, including the petition, once available: https://developer.uspto.gov/ptab-api/documents/IPR2026-00217
• Consider obtaining a copy of the petition filed by Medtronic, Inc. to understand the specific claims challenged and the prior art relied upon. This information is crucial for assessing the strength of the challenge and informing any defensive strategies.
• If the IPR is instituted, pay close attention to the trial schedule, including deadlines for discovery, expert reports, and the oral hearing.
• Given the patent's status as "Expired - Lifetime, expires 2025-08-24" as per Google Patents, a defendant should carefully consider the implications of a challenge to an expired patent, particularly in the context of damages for past infringement.