Salesforce launches PTAB challenge against IQX automated authentication patent

Salesforce has filed a new inter partes review (IPR) petition challenging an IQX Corp. patent covering technology that includes silent network authentication, adding a Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceeding to parallel patent litigation between the companies.

The petition was filed September 24 at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board in IPR2026-00475. Salesforce, Inc. is identified as the petitioner, and IQX Corp. as the patent owner. The proceeding challenges US Patent No. 12,368,799, Automated silent network authentication protocol. The case is currently pending, with no institution decision issued.

Patent covers authentication and mobile messaging

The ‘799 patent was issued to IQX on July 22, 2025, from US application No. 18/984,041. The named inventors are Sacha Spindler and Aidan Wright, and the patent is assigned to IQX Corp.

The patent describes systems and methods for providing secure access and authentication through mobile devices. Its specification discusses a Silent Network Authentication Protocol (SNAP) that can authenticate a client device using information associated with a subscriber, device, or SIM card, including through communication with a cellular network or authentication service provider.

The patent also addresses customized messaging and transaction functionality. Its disclosure describes requesting authorization data, verifying that data against the identity of a recipient or mobile device, determining a recipient classification, generating a Rich Communication Services (RCS) message, and scheduling delivery using a machine-learning model.

The issued patent therefore encompasses more than the silent-authentication mechanism alone. Its claims include systems involving hosted input fields, customized documents, electronic addresses, links to transaction-related content, and subsequent access to those documents.

IQX has asserted the patent against Salesforce

The PTAB filing comes as IQX pursues patent litigation against Salesforce in the Western District of Texas. IQX Corp. v. Salesforce, Inc., No. 7:26-cv-00213, was filed May 28, 2026. Public docket information identifies the case as a patent infringement action and lists Salesforce as the defendant.

A complaint analysis identifies US Patent Nos. 11,876,924, 12,200,165, 12,368,799, and 12,438,978 among the patents asserted against Salesforce’s text-message marketing systems. The analysis states that IQX asserted claim 12 of the ‘799 patent in particular.

IQX has also asserted the ‘799 patent against Intuit in a separate action, IQX Corp. v. Intuit Inc., No. 2:26-cv-00351, in the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint, filed April 30, 2026, includes a separate count alleging infringement of the ‘799 patent.

PTAB challenge is at petition stage

Because the Salesforce petition was filed only one day before this article, publicly indexed information currently confirms the proceeding, filing date, petitioner, patent, and pending status, but does not provide a reliable public summary of the specific claims challenged or prior-art references relied upon.

Those details should therefore not be characterized until the petition itself and its accompanying exhibits have been reviewed. An IPR petition does not itself invalidate a patent. The PTAB must first determine whether to institute review. At this stage, there has been no PTAB finding that any claim of the ‘799 patent is unpatentable, and no final written decision has issued.

The proceeding will nevertheless be worth watching alongside the district-court litigation. Salesforce’s filing places the validity of the ‘799 patent before the PTAB while IQX’s infringement allegations continue in federal court.

The Patent Lawyer will monitor IPR2026-00475 as the petition, challenged claims, and asserted prior art become available.

← Back to News