PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one active AIA trial proceeding on US patent 12156669, currently in the "Pending" status for institution. This indicates that the patent has not yet been challenged through to a Final Written Decision at the PTAB, and its claims remain untested in this forum.

IPR2026-00169 — Imperative Care, Inc. v. Inari Medical Inc.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-12-16
• Status: Pending. The petition has been filed, and the PTAB is currently reviewing it to determine whether to institute a trial.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the assigned judge panel for IPR2026-00169 is not yet publicly available in the search results.
• Petition grounds: The specific claims challenged, prior art references cited, and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) for the petition in IPR2026-00169 are not publicly detailed in the provided search snippets.
• Institution decision: A decision on institution for IPR2026-00169 has not yet been issued. The statutory deadline for an institution decision is typically six months from the petition's filing date (June 16, 2026).
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not applicable; the proceeding is pending institution.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable; the proceeding is pending institution.
• Appeal: Not applicable; the proceeding is pending institution.
• Defensive value: As this IPR is still in the pre-institution phase, it offers no immediate defensive value in terms of claims being invalidated or sustained. The outcome of the institution decision will be the next critical milestone.

Strategic summary

Currently, all claims of US patent 12156669 are UNTESTED by a Final Written Decision from the PTAB. There are no claims that have been canceled or sustained in an AIA trial. The patent remains active, and its claims have not been narrowed through any inter partes review proceedings to date.

The estoppel landscape is undeveloped since no institution decision or Final Written Decision has been issued. If IPR2026-00169 is instituted, Imperative Care, Inc. (and its privies) would be estopped under § 315(e)(2) from raising any ground they raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. However, for other potential defendants, all prior-art grounds remain available.

There is no pattern of multiple IPR filings on this specific patent by the same petitioner, nor has the patent owner (Inari Medical Inc.) had the opportunity to pursue PTAB appeals aggressively as no FWD has been issued. Unified Patents is listed as a petitioner in one of the general litigation entries, but not specifically for IPR2026-00169 according to the "PTAB proceedings on file" section.

Recommended next steps

For any party facing assertion of US patent 12156669, the immediate next step is to closely monitor IPR2026-00169. The institution decision is anticipated by June 16, 2026. A decision to deny institution would bolster the patent's perceived strength, while a decision to institute would open a trial, creating uncertainty around the challenged claims. Accessing the petition, once public, would reveal the specific prior art and arguments being used by Imperative Care, Inc.