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| (Source: Apple) |
Apple has failed to secure inter partes review of seven U.S. patents asserted by nonpracticing entity Avant Location Technologies LLC, after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board declined to institute all of the challenges.
On Jan. 9, 2026, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied institution of seven IPR petitions filed by Apple in September 2025.
The challenged patents relate to mobile communications location-awareness technology that determines whether a mobile device is present within a designated "special area" using wireless identification signals and verification data, and then automatically adjusts service, billing, or operating parameters at the network level.
The non-instituted patents include U.S. Patent Nos. 10,009,720; 8,738,040; 8,934,922; 9,042,910; 9,119,030; 9,485,621; and 9,622,032. All share the title "Method and system for monitoring a mobile station presence in a special area."
Avant Location previously sued Apple for infringement of the same patent family in September 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The NPE had also brought two earlier infringement actions based on the same patents in September 2024 and September 2025, both of which were later voluntarily dismissed. Those prior filings are believed to have prompted Apple to pursue IPR relatively quickly.
With the PTAB declining to institute review, Apple must now press its defenses in district court, arguing either non-infringement or lack of patentability. Such invalidity arguments are generally more difficult to prevail on in federal court than in PTAB proceedings, where the evidentiary and procedural standards are more favorable to challengers.
By PatenTrip
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