PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one active AIA trial proceeding on file for US Patent 11716171. This IPR is currently in the "Trial Instituted" phase, meaning the patent claims under review are still actively being litigated at the PTAB. As no claims have been invalidated or sustained yet, the defensive posture for a defendant is one of uncertainty, with a potential for future claim cancellation.

IPR2025-01110 — [[[Samsung Electronics Co.](/litigations/by-defendant/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.), Ltd.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.) et al.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Samsung%20Electronics%20Co.%2C%20Ltd.%20et%20al.) v. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-06-09
• Status: Trial Instituted. This means the PTAB has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable, and the trial phase has begun.
• Judge panel: Administrative Patent Judges J. V. Genna, B. M. Roesler, and J. M. Coviello.
• Petition grounds: Claims 1-13 were challenged under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, using various combinations of prior art references: US 9,560,707 (Chae), US 9,332,492 (Son), US 9,736,839 (Kwak), and US 2013/0242854 (Kwak).
• Institution decision: Instituted on 2025-12-06 for claims 1-13. The panel found that the petition demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that claims 1-13 are unpatentable under one or more of the challenged grounds.
• Final Written Decision: Not yet issued.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as the trial is ongoing.
• Appeal: Not applicable.
• Defensive value: All 13 claims of the patent are currently undergoing validity review at the PTAB. If a demand letter or assertion relies on any of these claims, their validity is uncertain pending the Final Written Decision. An IPR-based defense on these claims is a viable strategy, as the PTAB has already found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability for all of them.

Strategic summary

All 13 claims of US Patent 11716171 (claims 1-13) are currently under review in IPR2025-01110. None of the claims have been canceled or definitively sustained as patentable by the PTAB yet. Currently, there are no claims identified as "untested" from this proceeding, as all claims 1-13 have been challenged and instituted.

The estoppel landscape will not be fully formed until a Final Written Decision is issued. However, for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and any parties in privy with them, 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) will bar them from asserting invalidity grounds in future proceedings that they raised or reasonably could have raised during IPR2025-01110. For other defendants, the prior art grounds (Chae, Son, Kwak '492, Kwak '839, Kwak '254) are still available until a FWD is issued. The institution of all challenged claims suggests that the prior art presented by Samsung was compelling enough to meet the institution threshold.

A pattern signal is that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has initiated this IPR against Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc, which is the current assignee of the patent. The patent itself is relatively new (granted 2023-08-01), and the filing of an IPR less than two years after publication indicates active scrutiny by competitors or potential infringers.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US Patent 11716171, it is critical to monitor the progress of IPR2025-01110. The institution decision date was 2025-12-06, meaning the Final Written Decision is due by approximately 2026-12-06, given the PTAB's one-year statutory deadline from institution. The oral hearing would typically occur a few months before this deadline.

Keep an eye on the PTAB End-to-End system for IPR2025-01110 for updates on the trial schedule, including the oral hearing date and the issuance of the Final Written Decision. The institution decision can be reviewed at the PTAB E2E portal to understand the specific arguments that the PTAB found persuasive for instituting trial on claims 1-13.

It is advisable to review the instituted grounds and the cited prior art to assess their relevance to any accused products or services. If the claims are ultimately canceled, any infringement theories built upon them would be significantly weakened. If claims are sustained, it signals that IPR may be a harder path for future challengers on those specific grounds.## Proceedings overview
There is one active AIA trial proceeding on file for US Patent 11716171. This Inter Partes Review (IPR) is currently in the "Trial Instituted" phase, meaning the PTAB has determined that at least some challenged claims have a reasonable likelihood of being unpatentable, and the trial is ongoing. As no claims have been invalidated or sustained yet, the defensive posture for a defendant is one of uncertainty, with a potential for future claim cancellation.

IPR2025-01110 — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v. Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-06-09
• Status: Trial Instituted. The PTAB has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that at least one challenged claim is unpatentable, and the trial phase has begun.
• Judge panel: Administrative Patent Judges J. V. Genna, B. M. Roesler, and J. M. Coviello. (Information from previous analysis, not explicitly in current search results).
• Petition grounds: All claims (1-13) of US11716171 were challenged. The grounds asserted included challenges under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 (anticipation) and 103 (obviousness), based on prior art references such as US 9,560,707 (Chae), US 9,332,492 (Son), US 9,736,839 (Kwak), and US 2013/0242854 (Kwak). (Information from previous analysis, not explicitly in current search results).
• Institution decision: Instituted on 2025-12-06 for claims 1-13. The PTAB found a reasonable likelihood that claims 1-13 are unpatentable under one or more of the challenged grounds. This decision was issued around the time the USPTO Director began personally making institution determinations, with some routine decisions being summary notices without detailed reasoning.
• Final Written Decision: Not yet issued, as the trial is ongoing.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as the trial is ongoing.
• Appeal: Not applicable.
• Defensive value: All 13 claims of the patent are currently undergoing validity review at the PTAB. If a demand letter or assertion relies on any of these claims, their validity is uncertain pending the Final Written Decision. An IPR-based defense on these claims is a viable strategy, as the PTAB has already found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability for all of them.

Strategic summary

All 13 claims (claims 1-13) of US Patent 11716171 are currently under active review in IPR2025-01110. As the proceeding is in the "Trial Instituted" phase, no claims have been definitively canceled or sustained as patentable by the PTAB. All claims of the patent have been challenged and successfully instituted, indicating that the PTAB found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability for each.

Regarding estoppel, 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) will apply to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and any parties in privy with them once a Final Written Decision is issued. This will bar them from raising invalidity grounds that they raised or reasonably could have raised during IPR2025-01110 in future proceedings. For other potential defendants not in privy with Samsung, the prior art grounds (Chae, Son, Kwak '492, Kwak '839, Kwak '254) remain available for challenging the patent until a Final Written Decision is rendered and a potential estoppel effect is created.

The initiation of this IPR by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. against Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology Inc (the current assignee of the patent) within approximately two years of the patent's publication date (2023-08-01) signals active monitoring and potential concern over the patent's validity by a major industry player. The institution of all challenged claims (1-13) further suggests that the prior art arguments presented in the petition were considered strong by the PTAB.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US Patent 11716171, it is crucial to closely monitor the progress of IPR2025-01110. With an institution date of 2025-12-06, the Final Written Decision is statutorily due by approximately 2026-12-06. The oral hearing would typically precede this deadline.

It is recommended to review the institution decision for IPR2025-01110, if available, on the USPTO PTAB E2E portal to understand the specific reasoning and weight given to the prior art by the PTAB. This will provide valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the patent's claims. If the claims are ultimately canceled in the Final Written Decision, any infringement theories built on them would be severely undermined.