PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

There is one active AIA trial proceeding on U.S. Patent 12,232,681, currently in the "Pending" status. This means no claims have been invalidated or sustained by the PTAB yet. Therefore, the patent's defensive posture for a defendant remains largely untested in the PTAB context.

IPR2026-00336 — [[[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. Mark S. Feddema et al

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-04-13
• Status: Pending
• Judge panel: Not yet publicly available.
• Petition grounds: Not yet publicly available.
• Institution decision: Not yet issued.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not yet issued.
• Settlement / termination: No settlement or termination recorded.
• Appeal: No appeal has been filed as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This proceeding indicates that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is actively challenging the validity of U.S. Patent 12,232,681. While currently pending, a favorable outcome for Samsung (i.e., claims invalidated) would significantly weaken the patent owner's assertion position.

Strategic summary

As of May 29, 2026, all claims of U.S. Patent 12,232,681 remain untested by a Final Written Decision from the PTAB. The ongoing IPR2026-00336, filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al., is the sole PTAB challenge to this patent. This means that, at present, all claims of the patent are "UNTESTED" by the PTAB, and none have been "CANCELED" or "SUSTAINED."

Regarding estoppel, if IPR2026-00336 proceeds to a Final Written Decision, § 315(e)(2) will bar Samsung (and its privies) from raising any ground that was raised or reasonably could have been raised in the IPR. For a defendant currently being asserted against, this means that prior-art grounds not asserted by Samsung in this IPR, or those that could not have been reasonably raised, would remain available for a future challenge. Given the early stage of the proceeding, the specific prior-art grounds asserted by Samsung are not yet public.

The filing of an IPR by Samsung, who is also a defendant in a district court litigation involving this patent, signals an aggressive defensive strategy. This could indicate Samsung's belief that strong prior art exists to challenge the patent's validity. There is no information available to suggest a pattern of multiple IPR filings by the same petitioner on this specific patent, nor any indication of appeals by the patent owner from PTAB decisions, as no Final Written Decision has been issued yet.

Recommended next steps

Since IPR2026-00336 is in the early stages, the key upcoming milestone will be the institution decision. The PTAB has a statutory deadline of one year from the filing date (April 13, 2026) to issue an institution decision. This means an institution decision for IPR2026-00336 is anticipated by April 13, 2027. We recommend closely monitoring the PTAB E2E docket for IPR2026-00336 to track the institution decision, petition grounds, and any subsequent developments. The absence of any other PTAB activity for this patent might suggest that prior art challenges against it are relatively recent, aligning with its recent issuance date of February 25, 2025.