Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

Backbone Labs Inc.

Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering

10 pending office actions • 2 art units • 9 examiners • 0 of 10 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 8 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

Backbone Labs Inc. has 11 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These matters are distributed across 2 distinct art units, which indicates a high density of filings within a narrow range of technical classifications. This structure often results in examiners within the same 2 distinct art units reviewing multiple applications from the company, potentially leading to a more unified examination experience.

The portfolio is managed by 9 distinct examiners, showing a varied distribution of workload across the patent office. MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H is the busiest examiner, currently handling 2 busiest examiner pending actions. With 11 total pending office actions, the majority of the company's prosecution is spread across the remaining 9 distinct examiners. This variety of officials suggests that the company must adapt its strategy to 9 different individual perspectives within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering sector.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Portfolio Summary

10
Total Pending OAs
8
Non-Final OAs
2
Final Rejections
0
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 1 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

1
Overdue
0
Due this week
0
Due this month
0
Due in next 60 days
0
Due later

Case Difficulty Mix

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.

5
Hard (50%)
4
Medium (40%)
1
Easy (10%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other1 (10%)
§103 only3 (30%)
§102 only1 (10%)
Double-patenting only1 (10%)
Multi-statute (no §101)4 (40%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

0
Life Sciences
0% of docket
1
Information Tech
10% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
9
Mechanical / Eng
90% of docket
0
Business / Other
0% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

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.

100 h
Manual time on pending OAs
20 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
35 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
0.9 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H 2 54.3% +33.4%
POLLOCK, ZACHARY JOSEPH 1 26.5% +39.6%
DOSHI, ANKIT B 1 67.3% +22.1%
LIDDLE, JAY TRENT 1 57.7% +23.3%
MCCLELLAN, JAMES S 1 79.0% +13.7%
BLAISE, MALINA D 1 57.4% +38.8%
CARDONE, JASON D 1 87.5% -1.9%
LEICHLITER, CHASE E 1 64.6% +22.3%
HARPER, TRAMAR YONG 1 65.4% +23.9%

Quick Wins (1)

Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18739527 System and Method for Automatic Content Capability Detection CARDONE, JASON D —

Hard Cases (5)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18369000 Mobile Game Controller with Floating Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H 36d overdue
18967940 Game Controller for a Mobile Device with Extended Bumper Button POLLOCK, ZACHARY JOSEPH —
18945830 Mobile Game Controller with a Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H —
18388922 Virtual Game Controller LEICHLITER, CHASE E —
18214917 Game Controller with Play-on-Any-Screen Feature HARPER, TRAMAR YONG —

Interview Candidates (9)

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 #TitleExaminerDue in
18369000 Mobile Game Controller with Floating Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H 36d overdue
18967940 Game Controller for a Mobile Device with Extended Bumper Button POLLOCK, ZACHARY JOSEPH —
18945830 Mobile Game Controller with a Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H —
18915648 Game Controller for a Mobile Device with a Flat Flex Connector DOSHI, ANKIT B —
18915580 Game Controller with Magnetic Wireless Connector LIDDLE, JAY TRENT —
18805902 Ergonomic and Device Retention Solutions for a Handheld Game Controller MCCLELLAN, JAMES S —
18777919 Handheld Controller with Contact Zone for Constraining Mobile Devices of Differing Sizes BLAISE, MALINA D —
18388922 Virtual Game Controller LEICHLITER, CHASE E —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
3715 9
2458 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
18967940 Game Controller for a Mobile Device with Extended Bumper Button POLLOCK, ZACHARY JOSEPH 3715 §103§112Other Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 04, 2024
18945830 Mobile Game Controller with a Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H 3715 §102§103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 13, 2024
18915648 Game Controller for a Mobile Device with a Flat Flex Connector DOSHI, ANKIT B 3715 DP Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 15, 2024
18915580 Game Controller with Magnetic Wireless Connector LIDDLE, JAY TRENT 3715 §103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 15, 2024
18805902 Ergonomic and Device Retention Solutions for a Handheld Game Controller MCCLELLAN, JAMES S 3715 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Aug 15, 2024
18777919 Handheld Controller with Contact Zone for Constraining Mobile Devices of Differing Sizes BLAISE, MALINA D 3715 §102 Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 19, 2024
18739527 System and Method for Automatic Content Capability Detection CARDONE, JASON D 2458 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 11, 2024
18388922 Virtual Game Controller LEICHLITER, CHASE E 3715 §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 13, 2023
18369000 Mobile Game Controller with Floating Magnetic Connector MCCULLOCH JR, WILLIAM H 3715 §103§112 Final Rejection 36d overdue Pending Sep 15, 2023
18214917 Game Controller with Play-on-Any-Screen Feature HARPER, TRAMAR YONG 3715 §101§102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 27, 2023

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does Backbone Labs Inc. have?

Backbone Labs Inc. has 10 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 2 art units and 9 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most Backbone Labs Inc. applications?

William H Mcculloch Jr. has the most, with 2 of Backbone Labs Inc.'s pending office actions.

What technology area are Backbone Labs Inc.'s patent applications in?

Mostly Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering (USPTO Tech Center 3700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.

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