Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
7 pending office actions • 5 art units • 6 examiners • 0 of 7 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 10 patents granted in the last 365 days
Crown Packaging Technology Inc. is currently managing 7 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are distributed among 6 distinct examiners. This indicates a high level of individual attention per application, with only one examiner handling more than one case. The portfolio is spread across 5 distinct art units, which suggests a relatively broad technical scope within the mechanical engineering domain.
VOLZ, ELIZABETH J is the busiest examiner for the company, with 2 pending office actions under their review. The involvement of 5 distinct art units means that the company must navigate various procedural nuances across different sections of the patent office. With 6 distinct examiners involved, the prosecution strategy must be tailored to the specific tendencies of each individual while accounting for the standards of the 5 different art units. These 7 pending office actions represent the current active challenges for the company.
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 |
|---|---|
| §103 only | 1 (14%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 6 (86%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 2 | 66.7% | +18.9% |
| NICOLAS, FREDERICK C | 1 | 81.3% | +12.7% |
| SULLIVAN, DEBRA M | 1 | 78.4% | +17.2% |
| POON, ROBERT | 1 | 41.9% | +27.0% |
| STEPHENS, MATTHEW | 1 | 65.5% | +22.6% |
| HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | 1 | 69.5% | +49.6% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18998801 | FULL APERTURE CAN END | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | — |
| 18730682 | CAN ENDS, METAL CANS AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING THEREFROM | NICOLAS, FREDERICK C | — |
| 18392941 | Metal Containers and Methods of Manufacture | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | — |
| 17783741 | FOOD TIN WITH VACUUM SEALED LID | POON, ROBERT | — |
| 17836577 | CAN BASE FORMING | STEPHENS, MATTHEW | — |
| 16584260 | Self-Dispensing Container | HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | — |
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 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18998801 | FULL APERTURE CAN END | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | — |
| 18730682 | CAN ENDS, METAL CANS AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING THEREFROM | NICOLAS, FREDERICK C | — |
| 18392941 | Metal Containers and Methods of Manufacture | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | — |
| 17925399 | CAN BODYMAKER MONITORING | SULLIVAN, DEBRA M | — |
| 17783741 | FOOD TIN WITH VACUUM SEALED LID | POON, ROBERT | — |
| 17836577 | CAN BASE FORMING | STEPHENS, MATTHEW | — |
| 16584260 | Self-Dispensing Container | HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3733 | 2 |
| 3725 | 2 |
| 3754 | 1 |
| 3735 | 1 |
| 3726 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18998801 | FULL APERTURE CAN END | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 3733 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 27, 2025 |
| 18730682 | CAN ENDS, METAL CANS AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING THEREFROM | NICOLAS, FREDERICK C | 3754 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18392941 | Metal Containers and Methods of Manufacture | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 3733 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 21, 2023 |
| 17925399 | CAN BODYMAKER MONITORING | SULLIVAN, DEBRA M | 3725 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 15, 2022 |
| 17783741 | FOOD TIN WITH VACUUM SEALED LID | POON, ROBERT | 3735 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 09, 2022 |
| 17836577 | CAN BASE FORMING | STEPHENS, MATTHEW | 3725 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 09, 2022 |
| 16584260 | Self-Dispensing Container | HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | 3726 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 26, 2019 |
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