PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one active inter partes review (IPR) proceeding on file for US Patent 11,633,006, which is currently pending. This means the patent's validity is currently under review by the PTAB, and its claims have not yet been challenged to finality.

IPR2026-00342 — Skechers U.S.A., Inc. v. Fast IP, LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-04-24
• Status: Pending. The proceeding is in its early stages, and an institution decision has not yet been issued.
• Judge panel: The judge panel has not yet been made public.
• Petition grounds: The petition was filed by Skechers U.S.A., Inc. against Fast IP, LLC. While specific claims and prior art are not yet publicly detailed in the PTAB Open Data Portal, IPR petitions typically challenge claims on grounds of anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 and/or obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103, using patents and printed publications as prior art. This IPR targets U.S. Patent No. 11,633,006, relating to rapid-entry footwear.
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The PTAB has approximately six months from the filing date to decide whether to institute the IPR.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not yet issued.
• Settlement / termination: Not yet settled or terminated.
• Appeal: No appeal has been filed as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This proceeding indicates that Skechers is actively challenging the validity of US Patent 11,633,006. As the IPR is still pending institution, the patent's claims remain presumptively valid. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor this IPR, as a decision to institute would indicate the PTAB believes there's a reasonable likelihood the challenged claims are unpatentable, providing a potential stay for related district court litigation.

Strategic summary

Currently, all claims of US Patent 11,633,006 remain UNTESTED at the PTAB, as the single IPR (IPR2026-00342) is still in the pre-institution phase. No claims have been canceled or sustained by a Final Written Decision.

The estoppel landscape has not yet been fully formed. If the PTAB institutes the IPR, Skechers (and its privies) would be estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting in other proceedings any ground of unpatentability that it raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. Given that this is the first IPR against the patent, the full range of prior-art grounds under §§ 102 and 103 are likely still available to Skechers in this proceeding.

There is a clear pattern signal here: Skechers U.S.A., Inc. is the petitioner in IPR2026-00342. This IPR was filed shortly after a patent infringement lawsuit was brought against Skechers by Fast IP, LLC, HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC, and Kizik Design, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in July 2025 (Case Number 2:25-cv-00744). Skechers has also filed an IPR against a related patent, U.S. Patent No. 11,871,811 (IPR2026-00343). This suggests a defensive strategy by Skechers to challenge the validity of Fast IP/Kizik's patent portfolio related to hands-free footwear.

Recommended next steps

As IPR2026-00342 is currently pending, a defendant facing assertion of US Patent 11,633,006 should:

• Monitor the institution decision: The PTAB's decision on whether to institute IPR2026-00342 is a critical milestone. This decision is typically due approximately six months from the filing date (April 24, 2026), placing the institution decision deadline around October 24, 2026. If instituted, the District Court litigation may be stayed pending the IPR's outcome. The status can be tracked on the USPTO PTAB Open Data Portal.
• Review the petition: Once publicly available, carefully review Skechers' IPR petition to understand the specific claims challenged and the prior art and arguments presented. This will provide insight into the strongest invalidity arguments against the patent.
• Anticipate the Final Written Decision: If the IPR is instituted, the PTAB has a statutory one-year deadline from institution to issue a Final Written Decision.