PTAB challenges

Proceedings overview

One Post-Grant Review (PGR) proceeding is on file for US patent 12268397, currently in a pending status. This means no claims have been invalidated or sustained by the PTAB yet. For a defendant, this indicates the patent claims are currently being challenged, but no final determination on their validity has been made.

PGR2026-00017 — Paragon 28, Inc. v. Treace Medical Concepts Inc.

• Type: Post-Grant Review
• Filed: 2025-12-19
• Status: Pending. The proceeding is ongoing, and no institution decision or final written decision has been issued yet.
• Judge panel: Information regarding the assigned judge panel is not yet publicly available for this pending proceeding.
• Petition grounds: Details of the specific claims challenged, prior art asserted, and statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) for the petition are not yet publicly available.
• Institution decision: Not yet issued. The statutory deadline for the institution decision is approximately six months from the filing date, which would be around June 19, 2026.
• Final Written Decision: Not yet issued.
• Settlement / termination: No settlement or termination has been reported for this pending proceeding.
• Appeal: No appeal to the Federal Circuit has occurred as no Final Written Decision has been issued.
• Defensive value: This proceeding represents an active challenge to US12268397. Its outcome will significantly impact the patent's strength. While the claims are currently presumed valid, this PGR aims to challenge that presumption. The institution decision is the next key milestone, and if instituted, the claims will undergo further scrutiny.

Strategic summary

As of the current date, 2026-05-27, all claims of US patent 12268397 are currently UNTESTED by a final PTAB decision. The patent is facing its first challenge in PGR2026-00017. Since the proceeding is still pending, there are no claims that have been canceled or sustained by the PTAB.

The estoppel landscape is not yet fully formed as there has been no institution decision or Final Written Decision. If PGR2026-00017 is instituted and proceeds to a Final Written Decision, the petitioner (Paragon 28, Inc.) and its privies would be estopped from raising any ground asserted or that reasonably could have been asserted in the PGR. However, for a different defendant facing assertion of this patent, the full range of prior art grounds under §§ 102, 103, and 112 (for post-grant review) remains potentially available until a final decision on specific claims is reached.

There are no apparent pattern signals such as multiple IPRs from the same petitioner or aggressive PTAB appeals by the patent owner yet, as this is the only proceeding on file.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant facing assertion of US12268397:

• Monitor PGR2026-00017 closely: The most critical upcoming milestone is the institution decision deadline, expected around June 19, 2026. This decision will indicate whether the PTAB believes there is a reasonable likelihood that at least one claim is unpatentable, thus initiating a full trial.
• Access public information: Once available, obtain and review the petition for PGR2026-00017 to understand which claims are being challenged and on what grounds. This information can inform your own invalidity analysis and potential defense strategies. This can typically be found on the USPTO PTAB E2E system by searching for PGR2026-00017.
• Anticipate trial milestones: If the PGR is instituted, key dates such as the Patent Owner Response, Petitioner Reply, oral hearing, and Final Written Decision deadline (approximately one year from institution) should be tracked.

* https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/PGR2026-00017