The institution rate for post-grant petitions in FY 2021 through the end of August 2021 (Oct. 1, 2020 through Aug. 31, 2021) stands at 58% (658 instituted, 471 denied) compared to 56% in the previous fiscal year.  The Patent Office notes that on a per-patent-challenged basis, rather than per-petition, the institution rate for FY 2021 is 65% (601 instituted, 324 denied).  August per-petition institutions were 49 institutions to 45 denials (52.1% institution).

Through August FY 2021, 1197 IPR petitions and 90 PGR petitions have been filed.  At that pace, 1305 IPR petitions would be expected in FY 2021, compared to 1429 in FY 2020 and 1394 in FY 2019.  The current pace represents a 28% drop from the 1812 IPRs filed in FY 2017.  August IPR petitions (97) were the second lowest seen this fiscal year (January – 74).

The PTAB’s statistics through August 2021 can be accessed here, and the PTAB’s statistics for prior months including archived statistics may be accessed here.