US courtsObservations & Oppositions builder

Declaratory judgment complaint

28 U.S.C. 2201, 2202

A federal suit by the accused party, asking the court to declare non-infringement, and invalidity only when the client decides, once the patentee has asserted its patent.

Start an invalidity search How IPtorch builds it
Court US district court 1. Complaint 2. Invalidity claim chart 3. Exhibit A (the patent) 4. Exhibit B (D1) 5. Civil cover sheet Complaint Chart Ex. A Ex. B Cover Unsigned draft
Pleading, chart and exhibits in one unsigned bundle.

At a glance

Once a controversy exists

USD 350 filing plus USD 55 administrative fee (checked 22 Sep 2026)

Who can file
Any party in a real and immediate controversy with the patentee: accused maker, seller, importer, customer or supplier.
Deadline
None by statute. In practice a first-to-file race against the patentee, measured in days.
Official fee
USD 405: the USD 350 filing fee (28 U.S.C. 1914(a)) plus a USD 55 administrative fee, paid through pay.gov.
Anonymous
No. Rule 10(a) names the plaintiff; sealing is exceptional and needs a motion.
Representation
A company appears only through counsel admitted in the district; a natural person may appear pro se.
How it is filed
CM/ECF, under an admitted attorney's login.
Effect
Non-infringement binds the parties for the accused products; an invalidity judgment can be used by later accused infringers.
Party status
Plaintiff in federal litigation, with appeal to the Federal Circuit.

What it is

Declaratory judgment complaint, in brief

A declaratory judgment complaint opens a federal action by the accused party. It asks the court to declare that the plaintiff does not infringe each patent the patentee has actually asserted and, only on an explicit strategy decision, that the patent is invalid.

An invalidity count permanently bars the plaintiff's own IPR and post-grant review, so the default is non-infringement only. The complaint cannot cancel a claim on the USPTO register. Invalidity contentions follow months later as a disclosure served under the local patent rules, with one claim chart per prior art item.

Grounds it can carry

  • Non-infringement, direct and indirect (the default)28 U.S.C. 2201, 2202
  • Invalidity: anticipation, on a recorded decision35 U.S.C. 102
  • Invalidity: obviousness, on a recorded decision35 U.S.C. 103
  • Invalidity: ineligibility, on a recorded decision35 U.S.C. 101
  • Invalidity: indefiniteness, enablement or written description35 U.S.C. 112
  • Unenforceability for inequitable conductFed. R. Civ. P. 9(b)

Use it when

  • The patentee acted against you or your customers: an assertion letter, a licence demand naming products, a claim chart, a suit.
  • You want the dispute settled now, in a forum you choose.
  • You want the full range of grounds, including public use, on sale, derivation and inequitable conduct, and the budget carries litigation.

Choose another route when

How IPtorch builds it

From search to filing, minus the signature.

The invalidity search runs on into this filing when it ends, with no second click. Three model families take turns, so a draft is never checked by the model that wrote it.

  1. 1SearchClaims split into limitations, thousands of candidates screened, at least 50 references read in full.Gemini models read and check
  2. 2Claim mapA verbatim quotation and its location behind every limitation.Every cell checkable
  3. 3DraftWrites the papers in the office's format and language.Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic)
  4. 4ReviewChecks each citation against its document and builds the forms.Sol 6 (OpenAI)
  5. 5AdjudicateHigh strength: a third family rules on every objection.Gemini 3.1 Pro (Google)
  6. 6FolderUnsigned PDFs, ready for a professional to review, sign and file.Nothing is filed

What the builder does for this filing

  • IPtorch pleads the controversy in dated paragraphs, who sent what and when, naming patents, claims and products, and restates it inside every count.
  • Counts default to non-infringement only; an invalidity count is added only on a recorded client decision, because it bars the plaintiff's own IPR and post-grant review for good.
  • It pleads venue under 28 U.S.C. 1391, never 1400(b), and refuses counts on any patent the patentee has not asserted.
  • The invalidity search feeds the later contentions and their claim charts, one per prior art item; the prior art is never attached to the complaint.

In the folder

  • Complaint for declaratory judgmentNumbered paragraphs, one count per patent per theory
  • Exhibit listExhibits numbered as the complaint cites them
  • Civil cover sheet JS 44 and summons AO 440Field values; one summons per defendant
  • Rule 7.1 disclosure statementParents and 10 percent holders, confirmed by the client
  • Invalidity contentionsServed later under the local patent rules; not a pleading
  • Invalidity claim chartsOne per prior art item, every citation pinpointed
  • Copies of every cited documentProduced with the contentions, with labelled translations where needed

Builder strength

You choose how hard it is checked.

You pay for the tokens the sessions use, at the models' list prices plus a 30% fee, not for the time allowed. How pricing works

Low

40 minutesabout 10 million tokens (roughly $10 to $30)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 builds and checks the final forms

Medium

2 hoursabout 20 million tokens (roughly $20 to $60)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 reviews and rebuilds the content
  3. Opus 5.5 builds the filing folder
  4. Sol 6 checks the form

High

5 to 6 hoursabout 60 million tokens (roughly $50 to $200)

  1. Opus 5.5 drafts the submission
  2. Sol 6 runs a deep prior-art search
  3. Opus 5.5 rebuilds the submission against the evidence
  4. Sol 6 attacks it as an adversarial examiner
  5. Gemini 3.1 Pro adjudicates the objections
  6. Opus 5.5 applies the fixes and builds the filing folder
  7. Scripted checks of the filing folder
  8. Sol 6 audits the whole folder
  9. Convergence gate

If the gate fails, one repair round: opus 5.5 repairs what the gate found, sol 6 audits the repair, convergence gate, again.

What stays with you

You review, sign and file.

  • Record the invalidity decision with the client, or confirm non-infringement only.
  • Confirm parents, 10 percent holders, interested entities and funders for the disclosure statements.
  • Confirm the Rule 11 investigation, forum, jury demand and the assigned judge's standing order.
  • Sign with /s/ and file under your own CM/ECF login, paying USD 405 through pay.gov.

Where these go wrong

What the builder guards against.

  • No affirmative act by the patentee: a complaint filed on a rumour, a press release or a portfolio letter naming no product.
  • Filed the day the letter arrived, in a district with no connection to the patentee, then transferred under 28 U.S.C. 1404(a).

More filings in United States

USPTO, PTAB and federal courts

All 17 filings

Start with the evidence.

Upload the patent or enter its number. The invalidity search charts every claim, and the builder takes it from there.

Start an invalidity search

Facts checked against the office's rules on 22 September 2026. IPtorch is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. The builder's output is unsigned work product for a registered professional to review, sign and file; nothing is filed and no fee is paid for you. Confirm current requirements, fees and deadlines with the receiving office.