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ARTICLE · 30 JULY 2026

Post-Grant Challenges At The USPTO – 2026 2nd Quarter Update

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Inter partes review petitions fell to an all-time quarterly low of 57 in the second quarter of 2026. The story is no longer just decline; it is substitution. Ex parte reexamination requests hit an all-time quarterly high of 336 in the same quarter, and reexams now account for roughly three-quarters of all post-grant validity filings. The IPR era’s center of gravity has moved.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Matthew L. Cutler
Matthew L. Cutler

Inter partes review petitions fell to an all-time quarterly low of 57 in the second quarter of 2026. The story is no longer just decline; it is substitution. Ex parte reexamination requests hit an all-time quarterly high of 336 in the same quarter, and reexams now account for roughly three-quarters of all post-grant validity filings. The IPR era’s center of gravity has moved.

The numbers

IPR petitions hit an all-time low. 57 IPR petitions were filed in Q2 2026, down 51.3% from Q1 2026 and 83.8% from Q2 2025. Monthly filings bottomed at 22 in June, versus 131 in January 2025.

Reexam, in sharp contrast, set an all-time high. 336 ex parte reexamination requests were filed in Q2 2026, up 30.2% from Q1 and 148.9% year-over-year, edging past the previous record (330 in Q3 2012, set by a one-time fee rush). Reexams made up 74.7% of post-grant filings in the first half of 2026; in the first half of 2025 that share belonged to IPRs (72.9%). Samsung (61 requests), Apple (28), and Unified

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