Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
15 pending office actions • 6 art units • 13 examiners • 0 of 15 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 15 patents granted in the last 365 days
KWS Saat SE & Co. KGaA has 15 pending office actions in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These actions are distributed among 13 distinct examiners and 6 distinct art units. This indicates that most examiners are handling only a case for the company, with 13 distinct examiners managing the 15 total actions, showing a relatively dispersed prosecution environment.
PAGE, BRENT T is the busiest examiner for this portfolio, overseeing 2 pending office actions. This is a small concentration relative to the 15 total pending actions. The 6 distinct art units suggest that the company's biotechnological and pharmaceutical filings are focused within a few specialized examination groups. Practitioners should monitor the 2 pending office actions with PAGE, BRENT T while also accounting for the standards of the 6 distinct art units. The 13 distinct examiners provide a variety of perspectives within the biotechnology field.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 7 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. 7 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 | 3 (20%) |
| §103 only | 3 (20%) |
| §112 only | 3 (20%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (7%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (7%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 4 (27%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAGE, BRENT T | 2 | 82.4% | +10.8% |
| CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 2 | 45.5% | +80.0% |
| HARPER, ELIYAH STONE | 1 | 73.4% | +11.5% |
| ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | 1 | 72.2% | +21.5% |
| MEADOWS, CHRISTINA L | 1 | 76.1% | +23.2% |
| JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | 1 | 87.5% | +21.9% |
| ZHENG, LI | 1 | 83.6% | +12.9% |
| STOCKDALE, JESSICA NICOLE | 1 | 50.0% | +35.2% |
| MARINI, MATTHEW G | 1 | 60.5% | +21.9% |
| MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN | 1 | 88.9% | +5.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18266884 | TARGETED INFLUENCE ON MEIOSIS FOR INCREASING RECOMBINATION FREQUENCY | MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN | 15d overdue |
| 18292125 | PLANTS WITH IMPROVED DIGESTIBILITY AND MARKER HAPLOTYPES | ZHENG, LI | — |
| 17056043 | ARTIFICIAL MARKER ALLELE | PAGE, BRENT T | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17783997 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE OF MAIZE TO NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT BY A QTL ON CHROMOSOME 4 | SWITZER, JULIET CAROLINE | 17d overdue |
| 18569441 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE OF MAIZE TO NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT BY A QTL ON CHROMOSOME 4 | STOCKDALE, JESSICA NICOLE | 23d |
| 18037522 | METHOD FOR SELECTING OR IDENTIFYING A BRASSICA NAPUS PLANT HAVING RESISTANCE TO FUNGAL PATHOGEN | DELEO, VICTORIA LYNN | 23d |
| 18779482 | HYBRID NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCES FOR GENOME ENGINEERING | PAGE, BRENT T | 42d |
| 19106507 | USE OF PAIRED GENES IN HYBRID BREEDING | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | — |
| 18816918 | GENERATION OF HAPLOID PLANTS | MEADOWS, CHRISTINA L | — |
| 18687796 | PERFORMANCE GAIN IN ALS INHIBITOR HERBICIDE TOLERANT BETA VULGARIS PLANTS BY COMBINATION OF BEST FITTING ALS LARGE AND SMALL SUBUNITS | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18687799 | ALS-INHIBITOR HERBICIDE TOLERANT BETA VULGARIS HYBRIDS WITH INCREASED HETEROSIS | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 12d |
| 18569441 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE OF MAIZE TO NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT BY A QTL ON CHROMOSOME 4 | STOCKDALE, JESSICA NICOLE | 23d |
| 18779482 | HYBRID NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCES FOR GENOME ENGINEERING | PAGE, BRENT T | 42d |
| 18021756 | PLANT RESISTANCE GENE AND MEANS FOR ITS IDENTIFICATION | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 55d |
| 19342289 | METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING A CANDIDATE, NAMELY A GENE LOCATION AND/OR A SEQUENCE VARIANT, INDICATIVE FOR AT LEAST ONE (PHENOTYPIC) TRAIT | HARPER, ELIYAH STONE | — |
| 19106507 | USE OF PAIRED GENES IN HYBRID BREEDING | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | — |
| 18816918 | GENERATION OF HAPLOID PLANTS | MEADOWS, CHRISTINA L | — |
| 18687796 | PERFORMANCE GAIN IN ALS INHIBITOR HERBICIDE TOLERANT BETA VULGARIS PLANTS BY COMBINATION OF BEST FITTING ALS LARGE AND SMALL SUBUNITS | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1663 | 6 |
| 1662 | 4 |
| 2166 | 1 |
| 2853 | 1 |
| 1682 | 1 |
| 1637 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19342289 | METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING A CANDIDATE, NAMELY A GENE LOCATION AND/OR A SEQUENCE VARIANT, INDICATIVE FOR AT LEAST ONE (PHENOTYPIC) TRAIT | HARPER, ELIYAH STONE | 2166 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 26, 2025 |
| 19106507 | USE OF PAIRED GENES IN HYBRID BREEDING | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 25, 2025 |
| 18816918 | GENERATION OF HAPLOID PLANTS | MEADOWS, CHRISTINA L | 1663 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18779482 | HYBRID NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCES FOR GENOME ENGINEERING | PAGE, BRENT T | 1663 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 42d | Pending | Jul 22, 2024 |
| 18687796 | PERFORMANCE GAIN IN ALS INHIBITOR HERBICIDE TOLERANT BETA VULGARIS PLANTS BY COMBINATION OF BEST FITTING ALS LARGE AND SMALL SUBUNITS | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | 1663 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 28, 2024 |
| 18687799 | ALS-INHIBITOR HERBICIDE TOLERANT BETA VULGARIS HYBRIDS WITH INCREASED HETEROSIS | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 1662 | §103§112DP | Final Rejection | 12d | Pending | Feb 28, 2024 |
| 18292125 | PLANTS WITH IMPROVED DIGESTIBILITY AND MARKER HAPLOTYPES | ZHENG, LI | 1662 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 25, 2024 |
| 18569441 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE OF MAIZE TO NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT BY A QTL ON CHROMOSOME 4 | STOCKDALE, JESSICA NICOLE | 1663 | §101§102§112Other | Non-Final OA | 23d | Pending | Dec 12, 2023 |
| 18271813 | ENRICHED SUGARBEET PULP PRODUCTION | MARINI, MATTHEW G | 2853 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 11, 2023 |
| 18266884 | TARGETED INFLUENCE ON MEIOSIS FOR INCREASING RECOMBINATION FREQUENCY | MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN | 1663 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 15d overdue | Pending | Jun 13, 2023 |
| 18037522 | METHOD FOR SELECTING OR IDENTIFYING A BRASSICA NAPUS PLANT HAVING RESISTANCE TO FUNGAL PATHOGEN | DELEO, VICTORIA LYNN | 1662 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 23d | Pending | May 17, 2023 |
| 18021756 | PLANT RESISTANCE GENE AND MEANS FOR ITS IDENTIFICATION | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 1662 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | 55d | Pending | Feb 16, 2023 |
| 17783997 | ENHANCED DISEASE RESISTANCE OF MAIZE TO NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT BY A QTL ON CHROMOSOME 4 | SWITZER, JULIET CAROLINE | 1682 | §101§102§112Other | Non-Final OA | 17d overdue | Pending | Jun 09, 2022 |
| 17056043 | ARTIFICIAL MARKER ALLELE | PAGE, BRENT T | 1663 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 17, 2020 |
| 17040943 | METHOD FOR INCREASING THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF A NUCLEIC ACID MOLECULE OF INTEREST IN A CELL | GROOMS, TIFFANY NICOLE | 1637 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 23, 2020 |
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