Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
8 pending office actions • 2 art units • 6 examiners • 0 of 8 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 3 patents granted in the last 365 days
3Spine, Inc. currently has 8 pending office actions in the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are distributed among 6 distinct examiners and 2 distinct art units. This distribution shows that the company's mechanical engineering matters are being reviewed by multiple examiners within a small number of specialized units.
The busiest examiner for the company is HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA, who is responsible for 2 pending office actions. These 2 actions are part of the 8 total pending office actions in the portfolio. With 6 distinct examiners involved, the company must manage several different examiner styles across the 2 distinct art units.
For a practitioner, the concentration of 8 pending office actions within 2 distinct art units suggests a need for a consistent strategy that addresses the specific standards of those units. The involvement of 6 distinct examiners means that while the art units are limited, the individual perspectives reviewing the applications are varied. The Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering sector remains the primary focus for these active matters.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 2 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 3 (38%) |
| §103 only | 1 (12%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (12%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 3 (38%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | 2 | 78.2% | +11.4% |
| MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | 2 | 68.5% | +48.2% |
| SIPP, AMY R. | 1 | 71.1% | +25.6% |
| HARVEY, JULIANNA NANCY | 1 | 77.9% | +19.2% |
| SKIBINSKY, ANNA | 1 | 39.0% | +29.1% |
| FUELLING, MICHAEL | 1 | 43.7% | +31.1% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 6 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19031595 | SPINAL ALIGNMENT SYSTEMS | HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | 15d |
| 18236368 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION USING BILATERAL IMPLANTS | HARVEY, JULIANNA NANCY | 16d |
| 19076602 | INSTRUMENTATION FOR TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SIPP, AMY R. | — |
| 18371334 | SURGICAL METHOD FOR RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | — |
| 18236367 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | — |
| 18226979 | ROBOTIC & NAVIGATION ASSISTED TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SKIBINSKY, ANNA | — |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19031595 | SPINAL ALIGNMENT SYSTEMS | HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | 15d |
| 18236368 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION USING BILATERAL IMPLANTS | HARVEY, JULIANNA NANCY | 16d |
| 19076602 | INSTRUMENTATION FOR TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SIPP, AMY R. | — |
| 18371334 | SURGICAL METHOD FOR RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | — |
| 18236367 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | — |
| 18232557 | TOTAL SPINAL JOINT SYSTEMS WITH DISSIMILAR BEARING MATERIALS | HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | — |
| 18226979 | ROBOTIC & NAVIGATION ASSISTED TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SKIBINSKY, ANNA | — |
| 18226727 | METHODS, SYSTEMS AND DEVICES FOR IMPROVING THE ACCURACY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SPINAL MOTION RESTORATION AND ALIGNMENT | FUELLING, MICHAEL | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3773 | 5 |
| 3775 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19076602 | INSTRUMENTATION FOR TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SIPP, AMY R. | 3775 | §101§102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 11, 2025 |
| 19031595 | SPINAL ALIGNMENT SYSTEMS | HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | 3773 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 15d | Pending | Jan 18, 2025 |
| 18371334 | SURGICAL METHOD FOR RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | 3773 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 21, 2023 |
| 18236367 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION | MERENE, JAN CHRISTOP L | 3773 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 21, 2023 |
| 18236368 | RESTORING SPINAL ALIGNMENT AND/OR RANGE OF MOTION USING BILATERAL IMPLANTS | HARVEY, JULIANNA NANCY | 3773 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | 16d | Pending | Aug 21, 2023 |
| 18232557 | TOTAL SPINAL JOINT SYSTEMS WITH DISSIMILAR BEARING MATERIALS | HAMMOND, ELLEN CHRISTINA | 3773 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 10, 2023 |
| 18226979 | ROBOTIC & NAVIGATION ASSISTED TOTAL SPINAL JOINT REPLACEMENT | SKIBINSKY, ANNA | — | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 27, 2023 |
| 18226727 | METHODS, SYSTEMS AND DEVICES FOR IMPROVING THE ACCURACY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SPINAL MOTION RESTORATION AND ALIGNMENT | FUELLING, MICHAEL | — | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 26, 2023 |
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