PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding, IPR2026-00287, has been filed against US patent 10867001 and is currently pending. This means the patent's claims are actively being challenged, and its defensive posture is currently uncertain, awaiting an institution decision and potentially a final written decision.

IPR2026-00287 — Google LLC v. Accusearch Technologies LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-03-13
• Status: Pending. This IPR is actively undergoing the preliminary patent owner response and petitioner reply stages, and the PTAB has not yet decided whether to institute a trial.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) assigned to this IPR is typically made public upon institution of the trial. As the proceeding is currently pending institution, the judge panel is not yet publicly available.
• Petition grounds: The petition by Google LLC challenges claims 1-26 of US Patent 10,867,001 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and § 103, leveraging a combination of prior art references including US20070185859 (Alberth et al.), US20070233682 (Srinivasan), and EP1801826B1 (Google).
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the PTAB to decide on institution is six months from the petition filing date. For IPR2026-00287, filed on 2026-03-13, the institution decision is due by approximately 2026-09-13.
• Final Written Decision: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Appeal: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Defensive value: As IPR2026-00287 is currently pending institution, no claims have been invalidated or confirmed patentable. The existence of this IPR indicates that the patent is actively being challenged, and a defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor its progress. If the IPR is instituted, the claims challenged will face a high burden to survive.

Strategic summary

US patent 10867001 currently has all its claims (1-26) untested by a final PTAB decision. IPR2026-00287, filed by Google LLC, is actively challenging all claims, but the PTAB has not yet determined whether to institute the trial. The claims are therefore neither canceled nor sustained, and their validity is presently in question.

The estoppel landscape is nascent. If IPR2026-00287 is instituted and proceeds to a final written decision, Google LLC (and its privies) would be estopped from asserting invalidity grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised in the IPR against claims determined to be patentable. However, until institution, no estoppel applies. For other potential defendants, all prior-art grounds remain available for challenge, subject to the usual IPR petition filing window constraints (e.g., one year from service of a complaint for infringement).

A pattern signal is the involvement of Unified Patents, who listed this IPR case on their portal, indicating potential defensive aggregation interest. The petitioner, Google LLC, is a major technology company, and their decision to file an IPR suggests they believe there are strong invalidity arguments against the patent.

Recommended next steps

• The institution decision for IPR2026-00287 is expected by approximately 2026-09-13. A defendant should monitor the USPTO PTAB E2E portal for the institution decision on this date.
• Review the IPR petition (available on the PTAB E2E system by searching for IPR2026-00287) to understand the specific prior art and arguments Google LLC is presenting against claims 1-26 of US10867001. This petition provides an initial assessment of potential invalidity arguments.

https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2026-00287
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10867001/en## Proceedings overview
One AIA trial proceeding, IPR2026-00287, has been filed against US patent 10867001 and is currently pending. This means the patent's claims are actively being challenged, and its defensive posture is currently uncertain, awaiting an institution decision and potentially a final written decision.

IPR2026-00287 — Google LLC v. Accusearch Technologies LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-03-13
• Status: Pending. This IPR is actively undergoing the preliminary patent owner response and petitioner reply stages, and the PTAB has not yet decided whether to institute a trial.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) assigned to this IPR is typically made public upon institution of the trial. As the proceeding is currently pending institution, the judge panel is not yet publicly available.
• Petition grounds: The petition by Google LLC challenges claims 1-26 of US Patent 10,867,001 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and § 103, leveraging a combination of prior art references including US20070185859 (Alberth et al.), US20070233682 (Srinivasan), and EP1801826B1 (Google).
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the PTAB to decide on institution is six months from the petition filing date. For IPR2026-00287, filed on 2026-03-13, the institution decision is due by approximately 2026-09-13.
• Final Written Decision: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Appeal: Not applicable as the proceeding is pending institution.
• Defensive value: As IPR2026-00287 is currently pending institution, no claims have been invalidated or confirmed patentable. The existence of this IPR indicates that the patent is actively being challenged, and a defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor its progress. If the IPR is instituted, the claims challenged will face a high burden to survive.

Strategic summary

US patent 10867001 currently has all its claims (1-26) untested by a final PTAB decision. IPR2026-00287, filed by Google LLC, is actively challenging all claims, but the PTAB has not yet determined whether to institute the trial. The claims are therefore neither canceled nor sustained, and their validity is presently in question.

The estoppel landscape is nascent. If IPR2026-00287 is instituted and proceeds to a final written decision, Google LLC (and its privies) would be estopped from asserting invalidity grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised in the IPR against claims determined to be patentable. However, until institution, no estoppel applies. For other potential defendants, all prior-art grounds remain available for challenge, subject to the usual IPR petition filing window constraints (e.g., one year from service of a complaint for infringement).

A pattern signal is the involvement of Unified Patents, who listed this IPR case on their portal, indicating potential defensive aggregation interest. The petitioner, Google LLC, is a major technology company, and their decision to file an IPR suggests they believe there are strong invalidity arguments against the patent.

Recommended next steps

• The institution decision for IPR2026-00287 is expected by approximately 2026-09-13. A defendant should monitor the USPTO PTAB E2E portal for the institution decision on this date.
• Review the IPR petition (available on the PTAB E2E system by searching for IPR2026-00287) to understand the specific prior art and arguments Google LLC is presenting against claims 1-26 of US10867001. This petition provides an initial assessment of potential invalidity arguments.

https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2026-00287
https://patents.google.com/patent/US10867001/en