The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s April 13, 2026 scheduling order in IPR2026-00094 is procedural rather than merits-driven, but it still deserves attention from PTAB practitioners. Scheduling orders set the roadmap for an inter partes review, and in practice they can shape strategy just as much as a substantive ruling by fixing the timing for briefing, discovery, expert work, and the oral hearing.

At a high level, the Board’s order establishes the case schedule that will govern the parties through trial.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board terminated IPR2025-01302 after the parties settled following institution of trial, illustrating the Board’s usual approach when a dispute becomes moot before a final written decision. The order is a reminder that, even after institution, settlement can still bring an IPR to a close—though timing and procedural posture matter.

Under 35 U.S.C. § 317 and the PTAB’s trial rules, an instituted inter partes review may be terminated upon joint request of the petitioner and patent owner, unless the Office has already decided the merits.