2025 IP Year in Review Reports

In 2025, the ITC remained a powerful forum for enforcing patents, particularly in disputes involving multiple respondents. This report covers several notable ITC decisions and recent amendments to the Commission’s Rules and Regulations, including updates to discovery and complaint-filing procedures.

In 2025, IP law and policy directly addressed the realities of generative AI. Building on the insights we shared throughout the year, the report highlights the trends, practical implications, and strategic considerations for businesses as they navigate an increasingly complex and evolving IP and AI landscape in 2026.

Design patent law saw significant movement in 2025, with precedential rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarifying the scope of protection and standing at the ITC, and district courts further shaping infringement, patentability, and obviousness standards. The report also examines procedural changes at the PTAB, the ITC’s role as a key forum for enforcing design patents, and global policy developments.

The PTAB experienced significant procedural and policy changes in 2025, including a series of developments that reshaped pre-institution practice and a shift in institution authority that now rests with the USPTO Director. This report recaps the most significant developments in 2025, offering practical guidance for both patent owners and petitioners as well as a preview of what 2026 may hold.

The Federal Circuit delivered a series of consequential rulings in 2025, including its first en banc utility patent decision since 2018 in EcoFactor v. Google on expert damages testimony, and important guidance on the ITC’s domestic industry requirement in Lashify v. ITC. This report highlights these decisions and more, surveying over a dozen of the year’s most impactful appeals from the PTAB, TTAB, district courts, and the ITC.