Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 27, 2026

Ethicon Inc.

Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering

5 pending office actions • 4 art units • 5 examiners • 0 of 5 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 18 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

Ethicon Inc. has 5 pending office actions in Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering. The matters involve 5 distinct examiners across 4 distinct art units, showing broad examiner distribution with some art-unit repetition.

JONES, DIANA S is the busiest examiner, with 1 pending office action. Counsel should track recurring art-unit issues while keeping each response tied to the specific device claims and examination record.

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

Portfolio Summary

5
Total Pending OAs
0
Non-Final OAs
5
Final Rejections
0
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 3 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

1
Overdue
0
Due this week
2
Due this month
0
Due in next 60 days
0
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 3 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (1)Due ≤ 30 days (2)

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.

3
Hard (60%)
2
Medium (40%)
0
Easy (0%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§103 only1 (20%)
Double-patenting + other1 (20%)
Multi-statute (no §101)3 (60%)

Industry Mix

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

2
Life Sciences
40% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
3
Mechanical / Eng
60% 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.

50 h
Manual time on pending OAs
10 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
18 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
0.4 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
JONES, DIANA S 1 75.1% +20.3%
WEISS, JESSICA 1 81.0% +32.8%
LABRANCHE, BROOKE N 1 72.1% +17.0%
LIU, TRACY 1 54.5% +26.9%
HARTLEY, MICHAEL G 1 38.0% +74.6%

Hard Cases (3)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 3 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18758030 Pressure Distribution Implants for Approximating Opposing Bone Edges of Sternums During Sternal Closure Procedures WEISS, JESSICA 28d
19014719 SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS FOR RECONSTITUTING THERAPEUTIC POWDERS, MIXING PRECURSOR SOLUTIONS, AND EXPRESSING SEALANTS FOR CONTROLLING BLEEDING AND SEALING FLUID AND AIR LEAKS JONES, DIANA S —
17546378 Bleeding Detection Method HARTLEY, MICHAEL G —

Interview Candidates (5)

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 5 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
17573574 BIOCOMPATIBLE, FLEXIBLE, HAEMOSTATIC SHEET LIU, TRACY 31d overdue
18757997 SURGICAL CLIP REQUIRING MINIMAL CLOSURE FORCE LABRANCHE, BROOKE N 8d
18758030 Pressure Distribution Implants for Approximating Opposing Bone Edges of Sternums During Sternal Closure Procedures WEISS, JESSICA 28d
19014719 SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS FOR RECONSTITUTING THERAPEUTIC POWDERS, MIXING PRECURSOR SOLUTIONS, AND EXPRESSING SEALANTS FOR CONTROLLING BLEEDING AND SEALING FLUID AND AIR LEAKS JONES, DIANA S —
17546378 Bleeding Detection Method HARTLEY, MICHAEL G —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
3775 2
3771 1
1614 1
1600 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19014719 SYSTEMS, DEVICES AND METHODS FOR RECONSTITUTING THERAPEUTIC POWDERS, MIXING PRECURSOR SOLUTIONS, AND EXPRESSING SEALANTS FOR CONTROLLING BLEEDING AND SEALING FLUID AND AIR LEAKS JONES, DIANA S 3775 §102§112 Final Rejection — Pending Jan 09, 2025
18758030 Pressure Distribution Implants for Approximating Opposing Bone Edges of Sternums During Sternal Closure Procedures WEISS, JESSICA 3775 §102§103§112 Final Rejection 28d Pending Jun 28, 2024
18757997 SURGICAL CLIP REQUIRING MINIMAL CLOSURE FORCE LABRANCHE, BROOKE N 3771 §103 Final Rejection 8d Pending Jun 28, 2024
17573574 BIOCOMPATIBLE, FLEXIBLE, HAEMOSTATIC SHEET LIU, TRACY 1614 §103DP Final Rejection 31d overdue Pending Jan 11, 2022
17546378 Bleeding Detection Method HARTLEY, MICHAEL G 1600 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Dec 09, 2021

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does Ethicon Inc. have?

Ethicon Inc. has 5 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 4 art units and 5 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most Ethicon Inc. applications?

Diana S Jones has the most, with 1 of Ethicon Inc.'s pending office actions.

What technology area are Ethicon 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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