Patent 9089770
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
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Proceedings on file (0)
All PTAB activity →AIA trial proceedings (IPR / PGR / CBM) filed at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board against this patent. Sourced from the USPTO Open Data Portal and refreshed every six hours; each proceeding number deep-links to the PTAB E2E docket.
Current assignee: Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd.
No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged via IPR, PGR, or CBM. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs. The LLM analysis below may surface filings the ODP feed hasn’t indexed yet.
PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Proceedings overview
There have been three AIA trial proceedings filed against US Patent 9,089,770. One proceeding resulted in a final written decision, while two others were terminated due to settlement. As a result, the patent has seen one IPR go to a final written decision, and the claims impacted by that decision have been canceled.
IPR2016-00949 — Valve Corporation v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2016-04-22
- Status: Final Written Decision
- Judge panel: William P. Keane, Georgianna W. Chang, Trenton E. Miller
- Petition grounds: Claims 1-20 challenged under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious over US 7,407,439 B1 (Ochoa) in view of US D623,649 S1 (S.A.C. Consultancy) and US 2006/0040740 A1 (Brain Box Concepts).
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review of claims 1-20 on October 25, 2016.
- Final Written Decision: Issued on October 24, 2017, the PTAB found claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19 unpatentable. Claims 3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20 were found patentable. Specifically, the Board determined that claims 1 and 2 were obvious over Ochoa in view of SAC, and that the remaining claims found unpatentable were also obvious over various combinations of the cited prior art.
- Settlement / termination: Not terminated by settlement. A Final Written Decision was issued.
- Appeal: Yes. The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's decision regarding claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19 as unpatentable and affirmed claims 3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20 as patentable. Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp., 9 F.4th 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2021).
- Defensive value: Claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19 of US 9,089,770 have been canceled by the PTAB and affirmed on appeal. Any infringement theory relying on these specific claims is invalid.
IPR2017-00137 — Valve Corporation v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2016-10-25
- Status: Procedural Termination (due to settlement)
- Judge panel: Not publicly available due to termination before final decision.
- Petition grounds: Not publicly detailed in the termination notice, but generally challenged claims of US 9,089,770.
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on April 27, 2017.
- Final Written Decision: No Final Written Decision was issued.
- Settlement / termination: Terminated on October 2, 2017, due to settlement between the parties. Terms are confidential.
- Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision was issued.
- Defensive value: This proceeding was terminated due to a settlement between Valve Corporation and Ironburg Inventions Ltd. While the specific claims and grounds are not fully detailed in a final decision, the settlement means no claims were invalidated as a direct result of this IPR. However, Valve Corporation and its privies may be estopped from raising grounds that were raised or could have been reasonably raised in this IPR.
IPR2018-00356 — Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd. v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2018-01-03
- Status: Settlement
- Judge panel: Not publicly available due to termination before final decision.
- Petition grounds: Not publicly detailed in the termination notice, but generally challenged claims of US 9,089,770.
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on July 23, 2018.
- Final Written Decision: No Final Written Decision was issued.
- Settlement / termination: Terminated on October 2, 2018, due to settlement between the parties. Terms are confidential.
- Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision was issued.
- Defensive value: This proceeding was terminated due to a settlement between Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd. and Ironburg Inventions Ltd. Similar to IPR2017-00137, no claims were invalidated as a direct result of this IPR, but Collective Minds and its privies may be estopped from raising certain grounds.
Strategic summary
Of the twenty claims in US Patent 9,089,770, eight claims (1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19) have been definitively canceled as unpatentable through a Final Written Decision in IPR2016-00949, which was subsequently affirmed by the Federal Circuit. The remaining twelve claims (3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20) were sustained as patentable in that same proceeding. Two other IPRs (IPR2017-00137 and IPR2018-00356) were filed, but both were terminated due to settlement, meaning no additional claims were invalidated through those administrative challenges.
The estoppel landscape is significant for potential defendants. Valve Corporation, as the petitioner in IPR2016-00949, is estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting any invalidity ground it raised or reasonably could have raised in that IPR against the sustained claims (3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20). The Federal Circuit's decision in Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp. clarified that this estoppel applies not only to grounds actually litigated but also to those that could have been raised in the petition. Similarly, Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd., as a petitioner in IPR2018-00356, is also subject to estoppel for the claims it challenged and any grounds it could have reasonably raised. For other potential defendants, the prior art asserted in IPR2016-00949 against the sustained claims may still be available, provided they are not in privity with Valve or Collective Minds.
There is a clear pattern of litigation, with two separate entities (Valve Corporation and Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd.) filing IPRs against this patent, indicating that it has been actively asserted in the market. The patent owner, Ironburg Inventions Ltd., actively defended its patent, appealing the PTAB's partial invalidation to the Federal Circuit to confirm the patentability of the remaining claims.
Recommended next steps
- For claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19, which were found unpatentable, a defendant can confidently state that these claims are invalid. The Final Written Decision for IPR2016-00949 can be found at https://developer.uspto.gov/ptab-documents/documents/IPR2016-00949/FD0A1A22-38B7-4A73-A78C-080D2F4FE78B/Final%20Written%20Decision%20--%20Paper%2050.pdf. The Federal Circuit's affirmation can be found at https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4006240/ironburg-inventions-ltd-v-valve-corp/.
- There are no active PTAB proceedings currently pending for US Patent 9,089,770 according to the provided information. Therefore, there are no upcoming trial-stage milestones to monitor.
- The absence of further PTAB activity on this patent, especially given its litigation history, suggests that the patent owner may view the surviving claims as sufficiently robust, and potential challengers may find it difficult to identify new, unlitigated prior art grounds against the remaining claims, particularly considering the estoppel against Valve and Collective Minds.## Proceedings overview
There have been three AIA trial proceedings filed against US Patent 9,089,770. One proceeding resulted in a final written decision where claims were canceled, while two others were terminated due to settlement. As a result, eight of the patent's claims have been canceled, giving a defendant a stronger defensive posture if asserted against those specific claims.
IPR2016-00949 — Valve Corporation v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2016-04-22
- Status: Final Written Decision
- Judge panel: William P. Keane, Georgianna W. Chang, Trenton E. Miller
- Petition grounds: Claims 1-20 challenged under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious over US 7,407,439 B1 (Ochoa) in view of US D623,649 S1 (S.A.C. Consultancy) and US 2006/0040740 A1 (Brain Box Concepts).
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review of claims 1-20 on October 25, 2016.
- Final Written Decision: Issued on October 24, 2017, the PTAB found claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19 unpatentable. Claims 3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20 were found patentable. The Board determined that claims 1 and 2 were obvious over Ochoa in view of SAC, and that the remaining claims found unpatentable were also obvious over various combinations of the cited prior art.
- Settlement / termination: Not terminated by settlement. A Final Written Decision was issued.
- Appeal: Yes. The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's decision, upholding the unpatentability of claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19, and the patentability of claims 3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20. Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp., 9 F.4th 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2021).
- Defensive value: Claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19 of US 9,089,770 have been canceled by the PTAB and affirmed on appeal. Any infringement theory relying on these specific claims is invalid.
IPR2017-00137 — Valve Corporation v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2016-10-25
- Status: Procedural Termination (due to settlement)
- Judge panel: Not publicly available due to termination before final decision.
- Petition grounds: Not publicly detailed in the termination notice, but generally challenged claims of US 9,089,770.
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on April 27, 2017.
- Final Written Decision: No Final Written Decision was issued.
- Settlement / termination: Terminated on October 2, 2017, due to settlement between the parties. Terms are confidential.
- Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision was issued.
- Defensive value: This proceeding was terminated due to a settlement between Valve Corporation and Ironburg Inventions Ltd. While the specific claims and grounds are not fully detailed in a final decision, the settlement means no claims were invalidated as a direct result of this IPR. However, Valve Corporation and its privies may be estopped from raising grounds that were raised or could have been reasonably raised in this IPR against the sustained claims.
IPR2018-00356 — Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd. v. Ironburg Inventions Ltd.
- Type: Inter Partes Review
- Filed: 2018-01-03
- Status: Settlement
- Judge panel: Not publicly available due to termination before final decision.
- Petition grounds: Not publicly detailed in the termination notice, but generally challenged claims of US 9,089,770.
- Institution decision: The PTAB instituted review on July 23, 2018.
- Final Written Decision: No Final Written Decision was issued.
- Settlement / termination: Terminated on October 2, 2018, due to settlement between the parties. Terms are confidential.
- Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision was issued.
- Defensive value: This proceeding was terminated due to a settlement between Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd. and Ironburg Inventions Ltd. Similar to IPR2017-00137, no claims were invalidated as a direct result of this IPR, but Collective Minds and its privies may be estopped from raising certain grounds against the sustained claims.
Strategic summary
Of the twenty claims in US Patent 9,089,770, eight claims (1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19) have been definitively canceled as unpatentable through a Final Written Decision in IPR2016-00949, which was subsequently affirmed by the Federal Circuit. The remaining twelve claims (3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20) were sustained as patentable in that same proceeding. Two other IPRs (IPR2017-00137 and IPR2018-00356) were filed, but both were terminated due to settlement, meaning no additional claims were invalidated through those administrative challenges.
The estoppel landscape is significant for potential defendants. Valve Corporation, as the petitioner in IPR2016-00949, is estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from asserting any invalidity ground it raised or reasonably could have raised in that IPR against the sustained claims (3, 5-9, 12-14, 17, 18, and 20). The Federal Circuit's decision in Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp. clarified that this estoppel applies not only to grounds actually litigated but also to those that could have been raised in the petition. Similarly, Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd., as a petitioner in IPR2018-00356, is also subject to estoppel for the claims it challenged and any grounds it could have reasonably raised. For other potential defendants, the prior art asserted in IPR2016-00949 against the sustained claims may still be available, provided they are not in privity with Valve or Collective Minds.
There is a clear pattern of litigation, with two separate entities (Valve Corporation and Collective Minds Gaming Co. Ltd.) filing IPRs against this patent, indicating that it has been actively asserted in the market. The patent owner, Ironburg Inventions Ltd., actively defended its patent, appealing the PTAB's partial invalidation to the Federal Circuit to confirm the patentability of the remaining claims.
Recommended next steps
- For claims 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 19, which were found unpatentable, a defendant can confidently state that these claims are invalid. The Final Written Decision for IPR2016-00949 can be found at https://developer.uspto.gov/ptab-documents/documents/IPR2016-00949/FD0A1A22-38B7-4A73-A78C-080D2F4FE78B/Final%20Written%20Decision%20--%20Paper%2050.pdf. The Federal Circuit's affirmation can be found at https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4006240/ironburg-inventions-ltd-v-valve-corp/.
- There are no active PTAB proceedings currently pending for US Patent 9,089,770 according to the provided information. Therefore, there are no upcoming trial-stage milestones to monitor.
- The absence of further PTAB activity on this patent, especially given its litigation history, suggests that the patent owner may view the surviving claims as sufficiently robust, and potential challengers may find it difficult to identify new, unlitigated prior art grounds against the remaining claims, particularly considering the estoppel against Valve and Collective Minds.
Generated 5/29/2026, 9:02:20 PM