Technology area: Networking & Security
7 pending office actions • 7 art units • 7 examiners • 0 of 7 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 25 patents granted in the last 365 days
F5 Inc. has 6 pending office actions in the Networking & Security technology area. These actions are assigned to 6 distinct examiners. The portfolio involves 6 distinct art units. BARKER, TODD L is the busiest examiner and is responsible for 1 pending office action. The one-to-one ratio of 6 pending office actions to 6 distinct examiners and 6 distinct art units means that every case is being reviewed in a unique environment.
The 6 distinct art units indicate that the Networking & Security filings are spread across several different technical groups. BARKER, TODD L handles 1 of the 6 pending office actions. Practitioners must be prepared for 6 different examination styles across the 6 distinct art units. This distribution suggests that the company's research touches on several sub-specialties. Each of the 6 distinct examiners will offer a unique perspective on the claims.
The Networking & Security technology area is the central theme of the portfolio. With 6 pending office actions, the company must manage separate deadlines and procedural requirements. The 6 distinct art units require the prosecution team to be familiar with the specific guidelines of different groups. BARKER, TODD L is the busiest examiner with 1 pending office action. The 6 distinct examiners will each provide their own feedback on the technical disclosures.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
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. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
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 | 1 (14%) |
| §103 only | 5 (71%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 1 (14%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BARKER, TODD L | 1 | 75.5% | +23.4% |
| SHEPPERD, ERIC W | 1 | 77.6% | +35.1% |
| BECHTEL, KEVIN M | 1 | 70.7% | +60.7% |
| FAAL, BABOUCARR | 1 | 80.7% | +14.3% |
| BROWN, CHRISTOPHER J | 1 | 75.5% | +12.8% |
| ASRES, HERMON | 1 | 80.8% | +18.2% |
| KONG, ALAN LINGQIAN | 1 | 80.5% | +33.6% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 3 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18146082 | METHODS FOR MIGRATING PRIVATE HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS AND DEVICES THEREOF | KONG, ALAN LINGQIAN | 28d overdue |
| 18375145 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR RADIO ACCESS NETWORK OPTIMIZATION BY EXTENDING NEAR-RT AND NON-RT RIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR O-CLOUD OPTIMIZATION AND MANAGEMENT | FAAL, BABOUCARR | 5d |
| 18374466 | METHODS FOR CONTROLLING NETWORK TRAFFIC WITH A SUBSCRIBER-AWARE DISAGGREGATOR AND METHODS THEREOF | ASRES, HERMON | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18887613 | METHODS FOR PROTECTING RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE TO A DEVICE CONNECTED VIA AN AUTHORIZED DEVICE OPERATING AS A HOTSPOT | BECHTEL, KEVIN M | 24d overdue |
| 19245145 | METHODS FOR ALLOCATING A TRAFFIC LOAD AND DEVICES THEREOF | BARKER, TODD L | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18146082 | METHODS FOR MIGRATING PRIVATE HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS AND DEVICES THEREOF | KONG, ALAN LINGQIAN | 28d overdue |
| 18887613 | METHODS FOR PROTECTING RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE TO A DEVICE CONNECTED VIA AN AUTHORIZED DEVICE OPERATING AS A HOTSPOT | BECHTEL, KEVIN M | 24d overdue |
| 18375145 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR RADIO ACCESS NETWORK OPTIMIZATION BY EXTENDING NEAR-RT AND NON-RT RIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR O-CLOUD OPTIMIZATION AND MANAGEMENT | FAAL, BABOUCARR | 5d |
| 18375027 | METHODS FOR SECURITY CONTROL AND DEVICES THEREOF | BROWN, CHRISTOPHER J | 22d |
| 19245145 | METHODS FOR ALLOCATING A TRAFFIC LOAD AND DEVICES THEREOF | BARKER, TODD L | — |
| 19219987 | DETECTING MALICIOUS DNS REQUESTS USING MACHINE LEARNING | SHEPPERD, ERIC W | — |
| 18374466 | METHODS FOR CONTROLLING NETWORK TRAFFIC WITH A SUBSCRIBER-AWARE DISAGGREGATOR AND METHODS THEREOF | ASRES, HERMON | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 2447 | 1 |
| 2492 | 1 |
| 2491 | 1 |
| 2138 | 1 |
| 2439 | 1 |
| 2449 | 1 |
| 2494 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19245145 | METHODS FOR ALLOCATING A TRAFFIC LOAD AND DEVICES THEREOF | BARKER, TODD L | 2447 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 20, 2025 |
| 19219987 | DETECTING MALICIOUS DNS REQUESTS USING MACHINE LEARNING | SHEPPERD, ERIC W | 2492 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 27, 2025 |
| 18887613 | METHODS FOR PROTECTING RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE TO A DEVICE CONNECTED VIA AN AUTHORIZED DEVICE OPERATING AS A HOTSPOT | BECHTEL, KEVIN M | 2491 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | 24d overdue | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18375145 | APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR RADIO ACCESS NETWORK OPTIMIZATION BY EXTENDING NEAR-RT AND NON-RT RIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR O-CLOUD OPTIMIZATION AND MANAGEMENT | FAAL, BABOUCARR | 2138 | §103 | Final Rejection | 5d | Pending | Sep 29, 2023 |
| 18375027 | METHODS FOR SECURITY CONTROL AND DEVICES THEREOF | BROWN, CHRISTOPHER J | 2439 | §103 | Final Rejection | 22d | Pending | Sep 29, 2023 |
| 18374466 | METHODS FOR CONTROLLING NETWORK TRAFFIC WITH A SUBSCRIBER-AWARE DISAGGREGATOR AND METHODS THEREOF | ASRES, HERMON | 2449 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 28, 2023 |
| 18146082 | METHODS FOR MIGRATING PRIVATE HARDWARE SECURITY KEYS AND DEVICES THEREOF | KONG, ALAN LINGQIAN | 2494 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | Pending | Dec 23, 2022 |
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Start Free TrialF5 Inc. has 7 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 7 art units and 7 examiners.
Todd L Barker has the most, with 1 of F5 Inc.'s pending office actions.
Mostly Networking & Security (USPTO Tech Center 2400), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
