Change has propelled inter partes reviews (IPRs) since the process launched at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in 2012. In the period since March 2020, when we first published this practice guide, the IPR process has continued to mature and evolve.

Our monitoring, research, and analysis of large collections of quantitative and qualitative data in recent months have borne fruit. The observations and recommendations we share here are meant to position parties and practitioners at the leading edge of IPR practice by identifying noteworthy trends and best practices in IPR proceedings, even while the process—and outcomes—shift.

In this edition of the IPR Evolution guide, we offer two in-depth analyses based on IPR statistics, and a third analysis focused on a persistent and thorny issue relevant to every post-grant proceeding.