PTABObservations & Oppositions builder

Inter partes review petition

35 U.S.C. 311 to 319; 37 CFR part 42

The standard PTAB challenge to an issued US patent over patents and printed publications: a trial before technical judges, on a preponderance standard, with full party rights.

Start an invalidity search How IPtorch builds it
Ground 1: claim 1 over D1 and D2 Limitation D1 D2 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e Disclosed col. 3, ll. 5-9 Disclosed col. 4, ll. 12-19 Partial Fig. 2 Disclosed col. 6, ll. 1-4 Not found Disclosed col. 5, ll. 22-30 Disclosed col. 7, ll. 3-8
Every limitation, a status and a location.

At a glance

Opens 9 months after grant

USD 23,750 plus USD 28,125, both on filing (checked 22 Sep 2026)

Who can file
Any person other than the patent owner, unless time-barred, estopped, or it already sued on validity. Not a US federal agency.
Deadline
Opens 9 months after grant for an AIA patent, at grant for pre-AIA. Closes 1 year after an infringement complaint is served (315(b)).
Official fee
USD 23,750 request plus USD 28,125 post-institution, both on filing, up to 20 claims; USD 470 plus USD 940 per claim over 20.
Anonymous
No. Every real party in interest is named (37 CFR 42.8(b)(1)).
Representation
Not strictly required. If counsel appears, lead counsel is a registered practitioner and at least one back-up is named.
How it is filed
Through P-TACTS, with a MyUSPTO account.
Effect
If instituted and taken to a final written decision, unpatentable claims are cancelled.
Party status
Full party, with discovery and appeal.

What it is

Inter partes review petition, in brief

Inter partes review is a contested trial before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in which anyone other than the owner asks the USPTO to cancel claims of an issued patent. It is limited to anticipation and obviousness, and only over patents and printed publications.

It opens at grant for a pre-AIA patent and 9 months after grant for an AIA patent. It closes 1 year after an infringement complaint is served on the petitioner, a real party in interest or a privy. Discretionary denial is briefed separately, never in the petition.

Grounds it can carry

  • Anticipation by a patent or printed publication35 U.S.C. 311(b) and 102
  • Obviousness over patents or printed publications35 U.S.C. 311(b) and 103

Use it when

  • You have been sued or threatened, and the patent is past the 9-month post-grant review window or is pre-AIA.
  • Your invalidity case rests on earlier patents, published applications or printed literature.
  • You want a faster, cheaper forum with technical judges and a preponderance standard, and have assessed the discretionary-denial risk.

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 uses only patents and printed publications, each re-qualified under pre-AIA or AIA 102 with its date and proof of public accessibility.
  • It states where each element of each challenged claim is found, with pinpoint exhibit citations, and gives a reason to combine and an expectation of success for every obviousness ground.
  • The whole argument goes in the petition within 14,000 words; discretionary-denial material is kept out and assessed in a separate internal paper.
  • It refuses products, public use, sales and applicant admitted prior art as the basis of a ground, and checks the 315(b) date against every complaint served.

In the folder

  • Petition for inter partes reviewWith 42.8 mandatory notices, table of exhibits and claim listing
  • Petitioner's exhibit listExhibits numbered from Ex. 1001 under 37 CFR 42.63(e)
  • Word count and service certificatesAppended to the petition; 14,000-word limit checked
  • Power of attorney and counsel data sheetUnder 37 CFR 42.10(b), for an officer of each petitioner
  • Expert declaration skeletonStructure only; the expert supplies the substance
  • Discretionary denial assessmentInternal task before filing, never in the petition
  • Copies of every cited documentAs numbered exhibits; translations carry an accuracy affidavit

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.

  • Lead or back-up counsel signs the petition and word count certificate, with registration number.
  • An officer of each petitioner signs the power of attorney; the expert signs the declaration.
  • Confirm every complaint served, with date and proof, and the real parties in interest, privies and funders.
  • File in P-TACTS and pay USD 51,875 on filing for up to 20 claims.

Where these go wrong

What the builder guards against.

  • The 315(b) clock run from the wrong event, or from service on the petitioner when a privy or real party in interest was served first.
  • Real parties in interest understated. Every one must be named, and a membership body should expect to prove who stands behind it.

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.