Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc.

Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering

4 pending office actions • 2 art units • 4 examiners • 0 of 4 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 20 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. is actively prosecuting its patent applications in the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. The company currently has 5 pending office actions, which indicates a significant level of ongoing interaction with the patent office. These actions are distributed across 3 distinct art units, showing that the company's medical and mechanical innovations are being reviewed by 3 specialized groups. This distribution requires a prosecution strategy that accounts for the specific technical standards and examination practices of each of the 3 art units.

The prosecution involves 5 distinct examiners, ensuring that each of the 5 pending office actions is being handled by a different individual. THOMAS, DAVID B is the busiest examiner for this portfolio, currently managing 1 pending office action. Because the number of examiners matches the number of pending actions, the workload is spread across the assigned staff without concentration under a single person. Practitioners should be prepared to handle 5 separate prosecution tracks, each with its own examiner, while navigating the requirements of the 3 art units.

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

Portfolio Summary

4
Total Pending OAs
4
Non-Final OAs
0
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.

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

4
Hard (100%)
0
Medium (0%)
0
Easy (0%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
Multi-statute (no §101)4 (100%)

Industry Mix

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

0
Life Sciences
0% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
4
Mechanical / Eng
100% 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.

40 h
Manual time on pending OAs
8 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
14 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
0.3 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
THOMAS, DAVID B 1 76.9% +21.2%
HONG, SEAHEE 1 68.7% +29.8%
ALIE, GHASSEM 1 69.4% +32.5%
MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S 1 54.3% +21.7%

Hard Cases (4)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 4 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18615550 Band Saw Stand ALIE, GHASSEM 84d
18806396 RATCHET WRENCH HAVING DISC SPACER THOMAS, DAVID B —
18732338 ADJUSTABLE SADDLE ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE JACK HONG, SEAHEE —
18230481 ADJUSTABLE SHOE FOR A POWER TOOL MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S —

Interview Candidates (4)

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 4 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18615550 Band Saw Stand ALIE, GHASSEM 84d
18806396 RATCHET WRENCH HAVING DISC SPACER THOMAS, DAVID B —
18732338 ADJUSTABLE SADDLE ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE JACK HONG, SEAHEE —
18230481 ADJUSTABLE SHOE FOR A POWER TOOL MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
3723 2
3724 2

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
18806396 RATCHET WRENCH HAVING DISC SPACER THOMAS, DAVID B 3723 §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 15, 2024
18732338 ADJUSTABLE SADDLE ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE JACK HONG, SEAHEE 3723 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 03, 2024
18615550 Band Saw Stand ALIE, GHASSEM 3724 §103§112 Non-Final OA 84d Pending Mar 25, 2024
18230481 ADJUSTABLE SHOE FOR A POWER TOOL MATTHEWS, JENNIFER S 3724 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 04, 2023

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. have?

Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. has 4 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 2 art units and 4 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc. applications?

David B Thomas has the most, with 1 of Harbor Freight Tools USA Inc.'s pending office actions.

What technology area are Harbor Freight Tools USA 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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