Apple Inc. vs. HBCU Messaging US LP

Explore the PTAB proceeding IPR2026-00104 filed by Apple Inc. on 2025-10-31. This includes filing dates, application numbers, tech centers, patent numbers, and current case status.

Proceeding Overview

Proceeding Number

IPR2026-00104

Filing Date

2025-10-31

Accorded Filing Date

2025-10-31

Institution Decision Date

2026-04-14

Last Modified Date

2026-06-04

Proceeding Type

IPR

Termination Date

2026-04-14

Trial Status

Institution Denied

Parties & Counsel

Petitioner

Apple Inc.

Represented By

Renner, W. Karlet al

Patent Owner / Respondent

HBCU Messaging US LP

Represented By

Devlin, Timothyet al

Tribunal & Venue

Tribunal

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (USPTO)

Technology Center

TC 2600 - Communications

Patent Information

1 Patent Involved

Respondent Application Number 17959697

Respondent Patent Number 11653183

External Links

Espacenet

Google Patents

Respondent Inventor Graham Merrett

Respondent Tech Center TC 2600 - Communications

Address and Attorney/Agent Information

38 Registered Practitioners

Power of Attorney & Correspondence

Firm / Entity Name VOLPE KOENIG

Customer Number 3624

Address 30 SOUTH 17TH STREET, 18TH FLOOR, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 19103, UNITED STATES

Attorney / Agent Information

Reg #	Name	Phone
28377	Anthony Volpe	215-568-6400
29662	C Koenig Iii	215-568-6400
33701	Daniel Golub	267-693-4322
34626	Randolph Huis	215-568-6400
37633	Gerald Halt Jr	215-568-6400
43593	John Donch Jr	215-568-6400
45215	Stuart Whittington	215-255-9230
48636	Todd Norton	215-255-9135
53223	Daniel Ling	216-363-9000
53401	Ryan O'Donnell	609-924-7900
53703	Dean Tricarico	973-828-1284
56982	Wesley Mcmichael	215-568-6400
57204	Robert Leonard	215-568-6400
58200	Nicholas Tinari Jr.	215-567-2010
58347	Michael Snyder	215-568-6400
59819	Joseph Gushue	215-570-3300
59955	Joshua Hamberger	201-410-8447
61553	Christina Walsh	215-568-6400
62745	Joseph Boos Jr	215-255-9190
64233	Marina Sigareva	617-470-1531
64397	Edward La Barr	215-255-6400
65170	Anthony Pettes	215-568-6400
65711	John Bollinger	610-213-6283
65760	Jonathan Dunsay	215-568-6400
66827	Baha Obeidat	206-622-4900
67743	Dawn Kerner	215-568-6400
69369	Patrick Griffin	610-733-1599
70507	Brandon Theiss	201-953-0854
71204	Robert Moore	617-348-1826
71315	Alok Parikh	215-255-9206
73179	Andrew Buschmeier	215-255-9158
74555	Danielle Gross	215-255-9233
75417	Michael Maicher	215-568-6400
76110	John Wilt	215-255-9187
78244	Joshua Schmid	609-313-8038
800108	Radhika Joshi	215-255-9212
81932	Bradley Richards	678-386-2752
82796	Brandon Barr	215-568-6400

Proceeding Documents

109

Notice: refund approved NOTICE

2026-06-04 FILING PARTY: BOARD

Download

Petitioner's Request for Refund OTHER

2026-06-03 FILING PARTY: PETITIONER

Download

Institution Decision: Deny DECISION

2026-04-14 FILING PARTY: BOARD

Download

Director Discretionary Decision: Refer RESPONSE

2026-03-17 FILING PARTY: BOARD

Download

Patent Owners' Authorized Preliminary Sur-Reply OTHER

2026-03-03 FILING PARTY: PATENT OWNER

Download

Apple Inc. vs. HBCU Messaging US LP

Proceeding Overview

Parties & Counsel

Petitioner

Apple Inc.

Represented By

Patent Owner / Respondent

HBCU Messaging US LP

Represented By

Tribunal & Venue

Patent Information

Address and Attorney/Agent Information

Power of Attorney & Correspondence

Attorney / Agent Information

Proceeding Documents

Notice: refund approved NOTICE

Petitioner's Request for Refund OTHER

Institution Decision: Deny DECISION

Director Discretionary Decision: Refer RESPONSE

Patent Owners' Authorized Preliminary Sur-Reply OTHER

Jan. 26, 2026 Email from Anna Schmit, District Court Law Clerk Exhibit

Notice of Decisions on Institution, Apple Inc. v. HBCU Mes-saging US LP, IPR2025-01488, Paper 15 (Feb. 18, 2026) Exhibit

Patent Owner’s Request for Director Review of Institution Decision, Samsung Elecs. Co. Ltd. v. Wilus Institute of Stand-ards and Tech. Inc., IPR2025-01069, Paper 18 (Dec. 24, 2025) Exhibit

HBCU Messaging US LP’s Identification of Claim Terms Requiring Construction, HBCU Messaging US LP v. Apple, Inc. et al., 1-24-cv-01199 (WDTX) (Aug. 1, 2025) Exhibit

HBCU Messaging US LP’s Supplemental Proposed Con-structions, HBCU Messaging US LP v. Apple, Inc. et al., 1-24-cv-01199 (WDTX) (Aug. 28, 2025) Exhibit

Petitioner's Authorized Reply to Patent Owner's Preliminary Response OTHER

Markman Hearing Transcript, HBCU Messaging US LP v. Apple, Inc. et al., 1-24-cv-01199 (WDTX) (Jan. 23, 2026) Exhibit

Decision Granting Institution of Inter Partes Review, Sam-sung Elecs. Co. Ltd. v. Wilus Institute of Standards and Tech. Inc., IPR2025-01069, Paper 16 (Dec. 10, 2025) Exhibit

Order Denying Patent Owner’s Request for Director Review of the Decision Granting Institution, Samsung Elecs. Co. Ltd. v. Wilus Institute of Standards and Tech. Inc., IPR2025-01069, Paper 20 (Feb. 4, 2026) Exhibit

Email Correspondence Exhibit

Claim Construction Order Exhibit

HBCU's Responsive Claim Construction Brief Exhibit

HBCU's Opening Claim Construction Brief Exhibit

Apple's Opening Claim Construction Brief Exhibit

MPEP Chapter 900 Exhibit

Continuity Data for U.S. Application Serial No. 12/452,883 Exhibit

Apple's Responsive Claim Construction Brief Exhibit

Petitioner's Opposition to Request for Discretionary Denial RESPONSE

German Federal Court of Justice Decision Exhibit

Summons in a Civil Action Exhibit

IPR2025-01486 Paper 12 Exhibit

District Court Litigation, January 26, 2026, email from Michael Shore to the District Court Exhibit

District Court Litigation, Apple's August 15, 2025, Proposed Constructions of Claim Terms Exhibit

IPR2025-00785, Decision Denying Institution of IPR (November 4, 2025) Exhibit

District Court Litigation, January 26, 2026, email response from the District Court Exhibit

District Court Litigation, HBCU's August 15, 2025, Proposed Constructions of Claim Terms Exhibit

District Court Litigation, January 23, 2026, Claim Construction Hearing Transcript Exhibit

Patent Owner's Preliminary Response POPR

Patent Owner's Corrected Discretionary Denial Briefing OTHER

Email Correspondence Exhibit

District Court Case Dkt. 61, HBCU Claim Construction Opening Brief Exhibit

Apple’s patent U.S. Pat. No. 12,265,696 Exhibit

US 2006/0167849 (“Marcus”) Exhibit

Apple’s Initial Invalidity Contentions Exhibit

District Court First Amended Complaint, Dkt. 32 Exhibit

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright Standing Order Governing Patent Proceedings Exhibit

US 2010/0131858 (“Schultz”) Exhibit

Apple’s U.S. Pat. No. 12,262,197 Exhibit

List of countries by GDP (nominal), Wikipedia (2026), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) (last accessed Jan 6, 2026) Exhibit

U.S. Patent No. 6,678,524 (“Hansson”) Exhibit

District Court Original Complaint, Dkt. 1 Exhibit

U.S. Patent No. 5,729,544 (“Lev”) Exhibit

Tsampalis PCT reference WO 2004/061583 Exhibit

WO 2005/018257 (“Maaniitty”) Exhibit

HBCU_App0001205-1208 - IDS Exhibit

EP 2 177 072 (DE document number 60 2008 022 036.2, Nullity Actions Exhibit

District Court Case, Dkt. 49 Exhibit

BGH, Judgment of December 15, 2020 - X ZR 120/18 - Federal Patent Court Exhibit

Apple’s patent U.S. Pat. No. 12,348,663 Exhibit

Examiner Search History from 183 Patent File History Exhibit

Apple’s patent U.S. Pat. No. 11,775,145 Exhibit

Apple Inc. (AAPL) stock price, news, Quote & History, Yahoo Finance, https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/key-statistics/ (last accessed Jan 6, 2026) Exhibit

Apple’s patent U.S. Pat. No. 11,743,375 Exhibit

Apple’s U.S. Pat. No. 11,775,145 Exhibit

Stipulation dated November 26, 2025 Exhibit

Petitioner's Updated Exhibit List NOTICE

Notice: Mandatory Notice NOTICE

Notice: Power of Attorney NOTICE

Notice: Notice filing date accorded NOTICE

Qi_Multimedia Messaging Service Exhibit