Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Chemistry & Materials
90 pending office actions • 47 art units • 72 examiners • 0 of 90 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 99 patents granted in the last 365 days
Merck Patent GmbH maintains a robust patent portfolio in the Chemistry & Materials technology area, as shown by 92 pending office actions. This volume of activity reflects a consistent effort to protect its chemical innovations. These 92 actions are spread across 74 distinct examiners, which indicates that many examiners are reviewing the applications from the company.
The portfolio is distributed across 33 distinct art units. This suggests that the company's research and development span multiple specialized fields within chemistry and materials. Practitioners must be prepared to handle the 92 pending office actions by understanding the specific technical requirements of these 33 different art units.
VISCONTI, GERALDINA is the busiest examiner for Merck Patent GmbH, with 5 pending office actions. While this is the highest concentration for any examiner, it is a small fraction of the total pending office actions. The involvement of 74 distinct examiners shows that the portfolio's prosecution is largely decentralized, meaning that the company's overall success is not tied to the decisions of just a few USPTO employees.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 29 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. 29 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 (1%) |
| §103 only | 17 (19%) |
| §102 only | 4 (4%) |
| §112 only | 9 (10%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (1%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 10 (11%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 46 (51%) |
| No statute on record | 2 (2%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 5 | 86.5% | +1.5% |
| EDWARDS, LYDIA E | 4 | 60.1% | +6.0% |
| CHAMPION, RICHARD DAVID | 4 | 46.1% | +12.9% |
| LOEWE, ROBERT S | 3 | 83.9% | +3.8% |
| SIMBANA, RACHEL A | 3 | 62.3% | +44.8% |
| YANG, JAY LEE | 2 | 73.8% | +2.2% |
| JEON, SEOKMIN | 2 | 59.6% | +53.1% |
| RAMIREZ, ALEX | 2 | 81.7% | +19.9% |
| MALLOY, ANNA E | 2 | 46.5% | -3.9% |
| PROCTOR, CACHET I | 1 | 77.2% | +5.8% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18145464 | LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME | LOEWE, ROBERT S | 9d overdue |
| 18033195 | TRANSFER DEVICE FOR TRANFERRING A PLURALITY OF OBJECTS THROUGH A TRANSFER PORT | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 4d overdue |
| 18868036 | FERROELECTRIC SMECTIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 30d |
| 19457941 | LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | — |
| 19457364 | LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | — |
| 18702248 | ELECTRO-MECHANICAL CONVERTERS USING FERROELECTRIC NEMATIC MATERIAL | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | — |
| 18270734 | MATERIALS FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICES | LOEWE, ROBERT S | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18033724 | COMPOUNDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VIRAL INFECTIONS | FETTEROLF, BRANDON J | 190d overdue |
| 18042040 | PROCESS SYSTEM FOR BIOREACTOR-BASED CLEAN MEAT PRODUCTION | STAVROU, CONSTANTINA E | 59d overdue |
| 18042037 | CONSUMABLE TISSUE-LIKE STRUCTURE GENERATED WITH MUSCLE CELLS GROWN ON EDIBLE HOLLOW FIBERS | SPENCE, JENNIFER SUZANNE | 30d overdue |
| 17613524 | HOLDING DEVICE AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATED STOPCOCK ACTUATION | DIPERT, FORREST BLAKE | 30d overdue |
| 17612058 | A NEGATIVE TONE LIFT OFF RESIST COMPOSITION COMPRISING AN ALKALI SOLUBLE RESIN AND A PHOTO ACID GENERATOR, AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING METAL FILM PATTERNS ON A SUBSTRATE. | MALLOY, ANNA E | 8d overdue |
| 18033209 | TRANSPORT PACKAGING FOR A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES AND BLISTER PACKAGING WITH A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 4d overdue |
| 17611500 | TREATMENT OF ISCHEMIC STROKE WITH APTAMERS TARGETING TLR-4 | CORDAS, EMILY ANN | 1d overdue |
| 18031470 | POLOXAMERS FOR CELL CULTURE | SPENCER, ANDREA LYNNE MORRIS | 6d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17599093 | POSITIVE TYPE RESIST COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RESIST PATTERN USING THE SAME | CHAMPION, RICHARD DAVID | 66d overdue |
| 18033195 | TRANSFER DEVICE FOR TRANFERRING A PLURALITY OF OBJECTS THROUGH A TRANSFER PORT | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 4d overdue |
| 18033209 | TRANSPORT PACKAGING FOR A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES AND BLISTER PACKAGING WITH A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 4d overdue |
| 17910001 | ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT APPARATUS | SIMBANA, RACHEL A | 33d |
| 18039988 | MATERIALS FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICES | JEON, SEOKMIN | — |
| 18034891 | MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES | SIMBANA, RACHEL A | — |
| 18032358 | ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICE | JEON, SEOKMIN | — |
| 17442835 | THIN FILM RESIST COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RESIST FILM USING THE SAME | CHAMPION, RICHARD DAVID | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1737 | 14 |
| 1786 | 10 |
| 1626 | 4 |
| 1796 | 4 |
| 1766 | 3 |
| 1712 | 2 |
| 2855 | 2 |
| 1628 | 2 |
| 1623 | 2 |
| 1779 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19457941 | LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 1737 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2026 |
| 19457364 | LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 1737 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2026 |
| 19099935 | POLYMER BRUSHES WITH CHAIN-ENDS FUNCTIONALIZED WITH METAL COORDINATING TWO HETERO ELEMENTS FOR SELECTIVE SURFACE MODIFICATION | PROCTOR, CACHET I | 1712 | — | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2025 |
| 19019712 | SOLAR CELLS | DAM, DUSTIN Q | 1721 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 14, 2025 |
| 18881183 | Pharmaceutical composition and method for enhancing solubility of poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients | ALAWADI, SARAH | 1619 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 03, 2025 |
| 18881175 | SAMPLING LID ASSEMBLY FOR PARTICLE MONITORING SYSTEM | LARKIN, DANIEL SEAN | 2855 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 03, 2025 |
| 18872672 | COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING DISODIUM 5,10-METHYLENE-(6R)-TETRAHYDROFOLATE | SZNAIDMAN, MARCOS L | 1628 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | Dec 06, 2024 |
| 18868036 | FERROELECTRIC SMECTIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 1737 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | 30d | Pending | Nov 21, 2024 |
| 18860780 | A SEMI-AUTOMATIC SEGMENTATION SYSTEM FOR PARTICLE MEASUREMENTS FROM MICROSCOPY IMAGES | YANG, QIAN | 2677 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 28, 2024 |
| 18927285 | SILICON PRECURSOR COMPOUND AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREFOR, AND SILICON-CONTAINING THIN FILM PREPARATION METHOD USING SILICON PRECURSOR | BAKSHI, PANCHAM | 1623 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 25, 2024 |
| 18853691 | Multi-Use Sensor Holder | EYASSU, MARRIT | 2855 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 02, 2024 |
| 18848961 | NEGATIVELY CHARGED SILICA PARTICLES, METHOD OF PRODUCING SUCH PARTICLES, COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING SUCH PARTICLES, AND A METHOD OF CHEMICAL-MECHANICAL POLISHING USING SUCH PARTICLES | DUCLAIR, STEPHANIE P. | 1713 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 20, 2024 |
| 18888536 | LIQUID-CRYSTAL MEDIUM | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 1737 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 16d | Pending | Sep 18, 2024 |
| 18847937 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR PURIFYING ADENO ASSOCIATED VIRUS PARTICLES | ZOU, NIANXIANG | 1671 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18827292 | MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE USING SELECTIVE DIELECTRIC ON DIELECTRIC (DOD) DEPOSITION PROCESS | LEE, DA WEI | 2817 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 06, 2024 |
| 18835879 | METAL EFFECT PIGMENTS WITH SURFACE-TREATMENTS, PREPARING METHOD AND USE OF SAME | ALLEY, GENEVIEVE S | 1617 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 05, 2024 |
| 18834636 | THERAGNOSTIC FOLATE CONJUGATES | MEJIAS, SAMANTHA LEE | 1618 | §103§112DPOther | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 31, 2024 |
| 18834637 | THERAGNOSTIC FOLATE CONJUGATES | LEWOCZKO, EVAN MICHAEL | 1612 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 31, 2024 |
| 18767505 | ARYLQUINAZOLINES | ANDERSON, REBECCA L | 1626 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 09, 2024 |
| 18708273 | MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING A SEPARATION BASED ON BORON CLUSTERS | KIEFER, DALTON EDWARD | 1652 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18705770 | HETEROBIFUNCTIONAL MOLECULES AS TEAD INHIBITORS | ENGLISH, CONNOR KENNEDY | 1625 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 29, 2024 |
| 18702248 | ELECTRO-MECHANICAL CONVERTERS USING FERROELECTRIC NEMATIC MATERIAL | VISCONTI, GERALDINA | 1737 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 17, 2024 |
| 18694468 | STIRRING DEVICE FOR STIRRING A BIPHASIC LIQUID | HOWELL, MARC C | 1774 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 22, 2024 |
| 18692965 | INTEGRATED SOLUTION FOR PROCESS INTENSIFICATION USING INLINE CONSTANTLY PRESSURIZED TANK: "ICPT" | PERRIN, CLARE M | 1779 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 18, 2024 |
| 18691484 | POLYSILOXANE FORMULATION | YOON, TAE H | 1762 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 13, 2024 |
| 18687336 | COMPOSITION | MURATA, AUSTIN | 1712 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 27d | Pending | Feb 28, 2024 |
| 18684228 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING SILICA PARTICLES, SILICA PARTICLES PRODUCED BY SUCH METHOD, COMPOSITIONS AND USES OF SUCH SILICA PARTICLES | MCCRACKEN, DANIEL | 1736 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 16, 2024 |
| 18682850 | LAYER CONTAINING EFFECT PIGMENTS AND SCATTERING ADDITIVES | CHERN, CHRISTINA | 1722 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 09, 2024 |
| 18292046 | WATER SOLUBLE PRODRUG, CONJUGATES AND USES THEREOF | KIM, SEONG JONG | 1621 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 25, 2024 |
| 18291529 | SRPK INHIBITORS | CLARK, AMY LYNN | 1628 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2024 |
| 18291526 | DEPTH FILTER MEDIA | ROTONDI, CONNOR JON | 1779 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2024 |
| 18578342 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE MANUFACTURING AQUEOUS SOLUTION, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RESIST PATTERN AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING DEVICE | FRASER, STEWART A | 1724 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 11, 2024 |
| 18576805 | PRODUCTION OF DIORGANOTIN DIHALIDES | BONAPARTE, AMY C | 1692 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 05, 2024 |
| 18565554 | METHOD FOR USING COMPOSITION COMPRISING ORGANIC ACID COMPOUND, LITHOGRAPHY COMPOSITION COMPRISING ORGANIC ACID COMPOUND, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING RESIST PATTERN | EOFF, ANCA | 1722 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 30, 2023 |
| 18561506 | EGFR TARGETING FC ANTIGEN BINDING FRAGMENT-DRUG CONJUGATES | CHASE, CAROL ANN | 1646 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 16, 2023 |
| 18557706 | PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FLAKE-FORM, CRYSTALLINE PARTICLES HAVING AN AURIVILLIUS STRUCTURE AND THE USE THEREOF AS EFFECT PIGMENTS OR SUBSTRATES THEREOF | GREEN, ANTHONY J | 1731 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 27, 2023 |
| 18557492 | AN AIR OR BREATH SAMPLING DEVICE CAPTURING BOTH AEROSOL AND VAPOR FRACTIONS | MCCORMACK, ERIN KATHLEEN | 3791 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 26, 2023 |
| 18376872 | MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES | YANG, JAY LEE | 1786 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 05, 2023 |
| 18270734 | MATERIALS FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICES | LOEWE, ROBERT S | 1766 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2023 |
| 18266827 | MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES | LOEWE, ROBERT S | 1766 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2023 |
| 18265177 | DIELECTRIC MATERIALS BASED ON BISMALEIMIDES CONTAINING CARDO/SPIRO MOIETIES | BROOKS, KREGG T | 1764 | §103 | Final Rejection | 58d overdue | Pending | Jun 02, 2023 |
| 18039988 | MATERIALS FOR ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICES | JEON, SEOKMIN | 1786 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 02, 2023 |
| 18038265 | Water Purification System With Inline Measurement Of Total Organic Carbon And Method Of Operating Such System | KEYWORTH, PETER | 1777 | §103 | Final Rejection | 33d | Pending | May 23, 2023 |
| 18251922 | PHOTORESIST REMOVER COMPOSITIONS | LEE, ALEXANDER N | 1737 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 34d | Pending | May 05, 2023 |
| 18034891 | MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES | SIMBANA, RACHEL A | 1786 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 02, 2023 |
| 18033724 | COMPOUNDS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VIRAL INFECTIONS | FETTEROLF, BRANDON J | 1626 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 190d overdue | Pending | Apr 25, 2023 |
| 18033195 | TRANSFER DEVICE FOR TRANFERRING A PLURALITY OF OBJECTS THROUGH A TRANSFER PORT | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 1798 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 4d overdue | Pending | Apr 21, 2023 |
| 18033259 | CARTRIDGE, TRANSFER DEVICE, METHOD FOR SAMPLING AIR, AND PRODUCTION ISOLATOR SYSTEM | HASSAN, LIBAN M | 1799 | §103 | Final Rejection | 31d overdue | Pending | Apr 21, 2023 |
| 18033209 | TRANSPORT PACKAGING FOR A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES AND BLISTER PACKAGING WITH A PLURALITY OF PETRI-DISHES | RAMIREZ, ALEX | 1798 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 4d overdue | Pending | Apr 21, 2023 |
| 18032358 | ORGANIC ELECTROLUMINESCENT DEVICE | JEON, SEOKMIN | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 18, 2023 |
IP Author helps IP teams respond to office actions faster with AI-generated responses, examiner analytics, and prosecution intelligence.
Start Free TrialMerck Patent GmbH has 90 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 47 art units and 72 examiners.
Geraldina Visconti has the most, with 5 of Merck Patent GmbH's pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.