Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
4 pending office actions • 2 art units • 3 examiners • 0 of 4 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 2 patents granted in the last 365 days
International Refills Company Ltd. has 4 pending office actions. These matters are located in the Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems technology area. The company interacts with 3 distinct examiners across 2 distinct art units. Christopher Garft is the busiest examiner for the portfolio, currently managing 2 pending actions.
Having 4 pending office actions assigned to 3 distinct examiners indicates that one examiner is handling more than one matter. The concentration of work in 2 distinct art units suggests that the company's Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems technology falls into a few specific categories. Christopher Garft, as the busiest examiner with 2 pending actions, is responsible for half of the company's current workload. Practitioners should prioritize understanding the preferences of this examiner to effectively manage the portfolio. The use of 2 distinct art units means that the company's innovations are being reviewed by two different specialized groups. This structure requires a strategy that can adapt to the requirements of both art units while maintaining consistency across the 4 pending office actions.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 2 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
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 | 2 (50%) |
| §102 only | 1 (25%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 1 (25%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GARFT, CHRISTOPHER | 2 | 59.0% | +23.3% |
| BALDRIGHI, ERIC C | 1 | 42.2% | +41.7% |
| VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 1 | 66.7% | +18.9% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19028298 | BAG ROLL CASSETTE AND METHOD OF USE | BALDRIGHI, ERIC C | — |
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 # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18768845 | WASTE DISPOSAL DEVICE AND FILM DISPENSING CASSETTE | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 28d |
| 14530914 | FILM-DISPENSING CASSETTE AND RIMMED BAG FOR WASTE-DISPOSAL UNIT | GARFT, CHRISTOPHER | 70d |
| 19028172 | FILM-DISPENSING CASSETTE AND RIMMED BAG FOR WASTE-DISPOSAL UNIT | GARFT, CHRISTOPHER | — |
| 19028298 | BAG ROLL CASSETTE AND METHOD OF USE | BALDRIGHI, ERIC C | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3632 | 2 |
| 3733 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19028172 | FILM-DISPENSING CASSETTE AND RIMMED BAG FOR WASTE-DISPOSAL UNIT | GARFT, CHRISTOPHER | 3632 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 19028298 | BAG ROLL CASSETTE AND METHOD OF USE | BALDRIGHI, ERIC C | — | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 17, 2025 |
| 18768845 | WASTE DISPOSAL DEVICE AND FILM DISPENSING CASSETTE | VOLZ, ELIZABETH J | 3733 | §102 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Jul 10, 2024 |
| 14530914 | FILM-DISPENSING CASSETTE AND RIMMED BAG FOR WASTE-DISPOSAL UNIT | GARFT, CHRISTOPHER | 3632 | §103 | Final Rejection | 70d | Pending | Nov 03, 2014 |
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