Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics
200 pending office actions • 60 art units • 165 examiners • 2 of 200 (1%) have an AI response strategy ready • 534 patents granted in the last 365 days
KIOXIA Corporation maintains a large portfolio in the Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics technology area with 206 pending office actions. These 206 actions are distributed among 169 distinct examiners, which indicates that many examiners are handling multiple cases for the company. The portfolio also spans 49 distinct art units, reflecting a broad technical range within the semiconductor sector.
MICHAUD, NICHOLAS BRIAN is the busiest examiner for KIOXIA Corporation, currently managing 3 pending office actions. This figure of 3 is very small compared to the total 206 pending office actions, showing that the company's workload is decentralized across its 169 distinct examiners. No single examiner holds a large portion of the company's active cases.
The 49 distinct art units involved in these 206 pending office actions suggest that the company's innovations are being reviewed across many specialized divisions. Practitioners must manage a wide variety of examiner styles and art unit cultures. The 206 pending office actions provide a substantial data set for analyzing the company's current prosecution performance across 169 distinct examiners.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 41 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. 41 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 only | 3 (2%) |
| §101 + other | 5 (2%) |
| §103 only | 61 (30%) |
| §102 only | 12 (6%) |
| §112 only | 14 (7%) |
| Double-patenting only | 16 (8%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 2 (1%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 85 (42%) |
| No statute on record | 2 (1%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MICHAUD, NICHOLAS BRIAN | 3 | 75.0% | +30.0% |
| GONDARENKO, NATALIA A | 3 | 72.9% | +20.5% |
| WEGNER, AARON MICHAEL | 3 | 75.0% | -2.7% |
| CHERY, MARDOCHEE | 2 | 88.5% | +10.3% |
| VERBRUGGE, KEVIN | 2 | 88.9% | -2.6% |
| PEUGH, BRIAN R | 2 | 92.1% | +1.3% |
| MCMAHON, DANIEL F | 2 | 89.7% | +2.3% |
| CHOI, WOO H | 2 | 83.7% | -4.4% |
| WELLS, JAMES STEVEN | 2 | 88.9% | +2.5% |
| SIDDIQUE, MUSHFIQUE | 2 | 89.6% | +6.2% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19319146 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING OPTIMAL PROGRAM PARAMETERS IN NON-VOLATILE MEMORY SYSTEMS | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | — |
| 19289327 | MEMORY SYSTEM | VERBRUGGE, KEVIN | — |
| 19272713 | MEMORY SYSTEM | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | — |
| 19271841 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE MEMORY SYSTEM | VERBRUGGE, KEVIN | — |
| 19248298 | MEMORY SYSTEM | PEUGH, BRIAN R | — |
| 19212375 | MEMORY SYSTEM | MCMAHON, DANIEL F | — |
| 19078539 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | CHOI, WOO H | — |
| 19074253 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | WELLS, JAMES STEVEN | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17941433 | SWITCH AND MEMORY DEVICE | ENGLAND, DAVID E | 195d overdue |
| 18177979 | PATTERN FORMING METHOD, TEMPLATE MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD | AU, BAC H | 50d overdue |
| 18519786 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | ESIABA, NKECHINYERE OTUOMASIRICH | 28d overdue |
| 18330515 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | NELSON, JACOB THEODORE | 18d overdue |
| 18458284 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | GONDARENKO, NATALIA A | 15d overdue |
| 18458196 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | MCDONALD, JASON ANDREW | 15d overdue |
| 18743571 | IMPRINT APPARATUS, IMPRINT METHOD, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | KIM, PETER B | 8d overdue |
| 17939145 | INSPECTION DEVICE AND INSPECTION METHOD | BECKER, BRANDON J | 8d overdue |
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 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18458284 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | GONDARENKO, NATALIA A | 15d overdue |
| 18459339 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | GONDARENKO, NATALIA A | 22d |
| 19319146 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING OPTIMAL PROGRAM PARAMETERS IN NON-VOLATILE MEMORY SYSTEMS | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | — |
| 19272713 | MEMORY SYSTEM | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | — |
| 18593989 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME | MICHAUD, NICHOLAS BRIAN | — |
| 18593988 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF | MICHAUD, NICHOLAS BRIAN | — |
| 18593981 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE, AND SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD | MICHAUD, NICHOLAS BRIAN | — |
| 18179922 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | GONDARENKO, NATALIA A | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 2898 | 14 |
| 2818 | 13 |
| 2893 | 12 |
| 2812 | 12 |
| 2897 | 10 |
| 2132 | 8 |
| 2824 | 8 |
| 2811 | 7 |
| 2133 | 6 |
| 2825 | 6 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19319146 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING OPTIMAL PROGRAM PARAMETERS IN NON-VOLATILE MEMORY SYSTEMS | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | 2133 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 04, 2025 |
| 19299798 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING NONVOLATILE MEMORY | KORTMAN, CURTIS JAMES | 2139 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 14, 2025 |
| 19295952 | NONVOLATILE MEMORY INCLUDING INTERMEDIATE BUFFER AND INPUT/OUTPUT BUFFER AND MEMORY SYSTEM INCLUDING THE NONVOLATILE MEMORY | GIARDINO JR, MARK A | 2135 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 11, 2025 |
| 19293103 | MEMORY CARD AND HOST DEVICE | TSUI, DANIEL D | 2132 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2025 |
| 19289327 | MEMORY SYSTEM | VERBRUGGE, KEVIN | 2132 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 04, 2025 |
| 19272713 | MEMORY SYSTEM | CHERY, MARDOCHEE | 2133 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2025 |
| 19271841 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE MEMORY SYSTEM | VERBRUGGE, KEVIN | 2132 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2025 |
| 19258193 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | HUYNH, KIM T | 2184 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19255694 | MEMORY DEVICE | DUDEK JR, EDWARD J | 2139 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19248298 | MEMORY SYSTEM | PEUGH, BRIAN R | 2139 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 24, 2025 |
| 19230931 | NON-VOLATILE SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | ESCALANTE, OVIDIO | 3992 | §112Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2025 |
| 19230274 | REMOVABLE MEMORY DEVICE | BAE, JI H | 2176 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2025 |
| 19212375 | MEMORY SYSTEM | MCMAHON, DANIEL F | 2112 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 19, 2025 |
| 19096833 | MEMORY SYSTEM | CHO, SUNG IL | 2825 | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 01, 2025 |
| 19080135 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM | PERRY, VICTOR NICHOLAS | 2111 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 14, 2025 |
| 19078539 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | CHOI, WOO H | 3992 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 13, 2025 |
| 19077499 | MEMORY SYSTEM, MEMORY CONTROLLER, AND CONTROL METHOD | BARNETT, JACK KENSINGTON | 2111 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 12, 2025 |
| 19074253 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | WELLS, JAMES STEVEN | 2825 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 07, 2025 |
| 19072633 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | SIDDIQUE, MUSHFIQUE | 2825 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 06, 2025 |
| 19071695 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM | NGUYEN, THIEN DANG | 2111 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 05, 2025 |
| 19063427 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND MEMORY DEVICE | RADKE, JAY W | 2827 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 26, 2025 |
| 19063044 | SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE, MEMORY SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | TANG, ANTHONY THINH | 2827 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 25, 2025 |
| 19061105 | EVALUATION METHOD AND EVALUATION DEVICE | RUSIN, KAYO LISA | 2114 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 24, 2025 |
| 19061216 | POWER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT CIRCUIT, MEMORY SYSTEM, AND POWER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT METHOD | PHAN, RAYMOND NGAN | 2175 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 24, 2025 |
| 19048632 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | NGUYEN, TUAN DUC | 2824 | Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 07, 2025 |
| 19046844 | POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT AND SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT INCLUDING DC-DC CONVERTER AND REGULATOR | ROSARIO BENITEZ, GUSTAVO A | 2838 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 06, 2025 |
| 19041462 | MEMORY SYSTEM | BASHAR, MOHAMMED A | 2824 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2025 |
| 19019995 | SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | DINH, TUAN T | 2847 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 14, 2025 |
| 19014791 | MEMORY DEVICE | HOANG, HUAN | 2827 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
| 19011649 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND RANDOM NUMBER GENERATION DEVICE | LIU, ZHE | 2493 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 07, 2025 |
| 18982248 | DATA EXCHANGE BETWEEN HOST AND STORAGE DEVICE USING COMPUTE FUNCTIONS | PAPERNO, NICHOLAS A | 2132 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 16, 2024 |
| 18983022 | MEMORY SYSTEM INCLUDING NONVOLATILE MEMORY AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME | TALUKDAR, ARVIND | 2132 | §103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 16, 2024 |
| 18980715 | MEMORY DEVICE | CHEN, XIAOCHUN L | 2824 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 13, 2024 |
| 18977848 | SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | REMAVEGE, CHRISTOPHER | 1713 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 11, 2024 |
| 18970707 | NON-VOLATILE MEMORY AND MEMORY SYSTEM | ABRAHAM, ESAW T | 2112 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2024 |
| 18969705 | FILE TRANSMISSION/RECEPTION DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD OF FILE TRANSMISSION/RECEPTION DEVICE | ALAM, FAYYAZ | 2646 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 05, 2024 |
| 18967748 | MEMORY SYSTEM AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM | WU, STEPHANIE | 2133 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 04, 2024 |
| 18967232 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | HOANG, HUAN | 2827 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 03, 2024 |
| 18957174 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CARD | CHOI, WOO H | 3992 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2024 |
| 18956073 | SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | SIDDIQUE, MUSHFIQUE | 2825 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2024 |
| 18953575 | SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | BEGUM, SULTANA | 2824 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2024 |
| 18926712 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE WITH FIRST AND SECOND SENSE AMPLIFIERS | LEBOEUF, JEROME LARRY | 2824 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 25, 2024 |
| 18922594 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND MEMORY SYSTEM | LEE, SIU M | 2632 | §101DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 22, 2024 |
| 18920281 | INDEPENDENT SET DATA LANES FOR IOD SSD | PEUGH, BRIAN R | 2133 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 8d | Pending | Oct 18, 2024 |
| 18915048 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BUFFER ALLOCATION MANAGEMENT FOR A MEMORY DEVICE | MACKALL, LARRY T | 2139 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | 68d | Pending | Oct 14, 2024 |
| 18895604 | MEMORY SYSTEM, HOST DEVICE AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR ERROR CORRECTION PROCESSING | CYGIEL, GARY W | 2137 | §101Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 25, 2024 |
| 18890006 | TEMPLATE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF | REMAVEGE, CHRISTOPHER | 1713 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 19, 2024 |
| 18830312 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND PATTERN FORMING METHOD | ANGUIANO, MICHAEL | 2899 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 10, 2024 |
| 18829361 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE | MENZ, DOUGLAS M | 2897 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 10, 2024 |
| 18829657 | MEMORY SYSTEM, MEMORY CONTROLLER, AND DATA READING METHOD | OTTO, ALAN | 2132 | §103 | Final Rejection | 35d | Pending | Sep 10, 2024 |
IP Author helps IP teams respond to office actions faster with AI-generated responses, examiner analytics, and prosecution intelligence.
Start Free TrialKIOXIA Corporation has 200 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 60 art units and 165 examiners.
Nicholas Brian Michaud has the most, with 3 of KIOXIA Corporation's pending office actions.
Mostly Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics (USPTO Tech Center 2800), based on where its pending office actions are examined.