PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one active AIA trial proceeding on US patent 11096797, which is currently in the "Trial Instituted" phase. This means that a defendant facing assertion of this patent will need to monitor the outcome of this IPR, as it has the potential to invalidate claims.

IPR2026-00124 — Medtronic, Inc. v. Moskowitz Family LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-11-10
• Status: Trial Instituted. This means the PTAB has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable, and a trial has begun.
• Judge panel: Information not publicly available at this time from the provided context or readily available from general searches without access to specific PTAB docket details.
• Petition grounds: Specific claims challenged, prior art references, and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) are not provided in the prompt. This information would typically be detailed in the institution decision.
• Institution decision: Instituted. The institution date is not explicitly provided in the prompt, but the "last modified" date of 2026-05-18 suggests recent activity related to the trial institution. The panel's reasoning for institution would be outlined in the institution decision, indicating which claims and grounds met the reasonable likelihood standard.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not yet issued, as the proceeding is still in the "Trial Instituted" phase.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as the proceeding is active.
• Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This active IPR means that the patent's validity is currently being challenged. If Medtronic, Inc. is successful, claims challenged in this IPR could be canceled, potentially weakening the patent for any future assertions. For a defendant, this creates uncertainty around the patent's strength until the IPR concludes.

Strategic summary

Currently, US patent 11096797 is subject to one active Inter Partes Review, IPR2026-00124, filed by Medtronic, Inc. The status "Trial Instituted" indicates that the PTAB has found sufficient merit in the petitioner's challenge to proceed to a full trial. This means that, at present, no claims of 11096797 have been definitively canceled or sustained through PTAB Final Written Decisions. All claims of the patent, including the seven different embodiments described (two with BDFT screws and five without BDFT screws) and the universal tool, remain potentially valid but are under review. The specific claims challenged in IPR2026-00124 are not detailed in the provided information.

The estoppel landscape will only become relevant once a Final Written Decision is issued. If claims are found unpatentable, Medtronic, Inc. and its privies would be estopped from asserting grounds raised or reasonably could have raised. Conversely, if claims are found patentable, the patent owner might gain some degree of "hardening" against future challenges on the same grounds. At this stage, since the trial has just been instituted (last modified 2026-05-18), the specifics of estoppel are yet to be determined. Given that Unified Patents is listed as a petitioner in a related litigation entry, it suggests a potential interest from defensive aggregators in challenging this patent.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US11096797, the primary next step would be to closely monitor IPR2026-00124. Key milestones for an instituted IPR include the patent owner's response, petitioner's reply, oral hearing, and the Final Written Decision, which is typically due within one year of institution. Accessing the full PTAB docket for IPR2026-00124 (via USPTO PTAB E2E portal) would be crucial to:

1. Identify the specific claims of US11096797 being challenged.
2. Review the prior art references and statutory grounds (e.g., novelty under § 102, obviousness under § 103) on which the trial was instituted.
3. Ascertain the identities of the Administrative Patent Judges on the panel.
4. Track upcoming deadlines, particularly the anticipated date for the Final Written Decision, which will dictate the ultimate outcome for the challenged claims.

A search for the institution decision for IPR2026-00124 would provide these critical details.