PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

One AIA trial proceeding is currently on file for US Patent 11376136. This Inter Partes Review (IPR) is active and has recently been instituted for trial. This indicates that the patent's validity is currently under scrutiny by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and no claims have been definitively upheld or canceled at this stage.

IPR2026-00163 — Medtronic, Inc. v. Ahmnon D. Moskowitz et al

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-12-01
• Status: Trial Instituted — The PTAB has determined that the petition presents a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable, and a trial has been formally initiated. No final decision on the merits of the challenged claims has been reached yet.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the specific Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) assigned to this case is not publicly available at this early stage of the proceedings, as the decision to institute IPRs and PGRs is now made by the USPTO Director.
• Petition grounds: Specific details regarding the claims challenged, the prior art asserted, and the statutory bases (e.g., 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 for anticipation or 103 for obviousness) are not yet publicly detailed in the provided search results. These details would typically be found in the filed petition and the institution decision.
• Institution decision: Instituted. The specific date of institution is not available from the provided data, but the "last modified" date of 2026-05-22 suggests the institution decision occurred on or around that time. As of October 20, 2025, the USPTO Director, John Squires, is solely responsible for deciding whether to institute IPR and post-grant review trials, a departure from previous practice where a merits panel of APJs made this decision.
• Final Written Decision: Not yet issued. The proceeding is currently in the trial phase.
• Settlement / termination: Not settled or terminated. The proceeding is active.
• Appeal: Not applicable at this stage, as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This active IPR means that the patent's validity, specifically the claims challenged by Medtronic, Inc., is currently being evaluated. While no claims have been invalidated, the institution of trial indicates that Medtronic has presented a sufficiently strong challenge. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should monitor this proceeding closely, as a successful challenge could significantly weaken the patent owner's position.

Strategic summary

US Patent 11376136 is currently the subject of one active Inter Partes Review, IPR2026-00163, initiated by Medtronic, Inc. As the proceeding is in the "Trial Instituted" phase, no claims have been canceled or sustained, meaning all claims of the patent are presently considered "untested" in the context of a final PTAB decision. The patent's validity is actively being contested, and the outcome of this IPR will be crucial for the defensive posture against this patent.

The estoppel landscape is not yet defined, as no Final Written Decision has been issued. Once a Final Written Decision is rendered, Medtronic, Inc. (and any parties in privity with them) would be estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting invalidity grounds in other forums that were raised or reasonably could have been raised during the IPR. Until then, the full range of prior-art grounds remains available to other potential challengers. The involvement of Medtronic, Inc., a significant medical device company, suggests a strong interest in challenging the patent. There is also parallel district court litigation, "Moskowitz Family LLC v. Medtronic, Inc. et al., No. 0:25-CV-00769" in the District of Minnesota, which provides context for this IPR.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US11376136, the primary recommendation is to closely monitor IPR2026-00163. Key upcoming trial-stage milestones for this IPR include the oral hearing and the Final Written Decision (FWD) due date. PTAB trials have a statutory one-year deadline for issuing a FWD from the date of institution. Given the "last modified" date of 2026-05-22, the FWD would likely be due around May 2027. Accessing the Institution Decision document, once publicly available, would be critical to understand the specific claims challenged, the prior art applied, and the USPTO Director's reasoning for institution. This will inform potential defense strategies.