The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s October 1, 2026 order in IPR2025-01250 grants the Patent Owner’s motions to seal, reinforcing a familiar but important PTAB principle: while Board proceedings are presumptively public, targeted protection remains available for genuinely confidential business information.

Although this order is procedural rather than merits-based, it matters because sealing disputes often shape how parties present technical and commercial evidence in inter partes review.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s October 1, 2026 order in IPR2025-01254 is a useful reminder that while PTAB proceedings are presumptively public, the Board will protect genuinely confidential business information when the movant makes a sufficient showing. In this order, the Board granted the Patent Owner’s motions to seal, allowing certain materials to remain non-public under the applicable protective framework.

Although the order appears procedural rather than merits-driven, it matters because sealing disputes frequently shape how parties present technical and commercial evidence in inter partes review.

The U.S. Department of Justice has told New Mexico officials it cannot legally turn over unredacted Jeffrey Epstein-related files sought for a state investigation into conduct tied to Epstein’s former ranch in New Mexico. The request, made by state officials pursuing their own live probe, has now developed into a notable federal-state dispute over how far cooperation can go when court-imposed confidentiality protections and victim privacy concerns remain in force.

At the center of the clash is a familiar but difficult issue: when one sovereign is investigating possible criminal conduct, what limits apply to evidence gathered or held by another? DOJ’s position appears to be that existing legal constraints — including protective orders, privacy obligations to victims and witnesses, and restrictions on investigative materials — prevent disclosure of the files in the form New Mexico wants.