Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
11 pending office actions • 3 art units • 9 examiners • 0 of 11 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 5 patents granted in the last 365 days
MIZUNO Corporation is currently navigating 12 pending office actions in the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These actions are distributed among 10 distinct examiners, showing that most examiners are handling only a limited number of cases for the company. The portfolio is active across 4 distinct art units, which indicates that the mechanical engineering filings are concentrated in a few specific technical categories at the USPTO.
DAKOTA MARIN is the busiest examiner for the company, holding 2 pending office actions. Because 10 distinct examiners are involved in the 12 pending actions, the prosecution strategy must be adaptable to various individual styles. The concentration in 4 distinct art units allows for some specialization in response strategies, as the legal team can familiarize themselves with the specific precedents and preferences of these few technical divisions. This balance between 10 distinct examiners and 4 distinct art units requires a coordinated effort to maintain consistency across the portfolio.
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 |
|---|---|
| §101 + other | 2 (18%) |
| §103 only | 2 (18%) |
| §102 only | 2 (18%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 5 (45%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MARIN, DAKOTA | 2 | 52.3% | +59.2% |
| NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | 2 | 43.2% | +42.4% |
| KAVANAUGH, JOHN T | 1 | 71.9% | +32.4% |
| GILLETT, JENNIFER ANN | 1 | 29.6% | +37.7% |
| ELLIOTT, ANDREW JAMES | 1 | 0.0% | +0.0% |
| BERRY, SAMANTHA MARIE | 1 | 50.0% | +0.0% |
| GORDEN, RAEANN | 1 | 82.9% | -5.0% |
| KLAYMAN, AMIR ARIE | 1 | 35.1% | +27.5% |
| PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 1 | 42.8% | +16.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18660661 | IRON GOLF CLUB HEAD | GORDEN, RAEANN | 31d overdue |
| 19292736 | SOLE | MARIN, DAKOTA | — |
| 19274925 | SWIMSUIT | MARIN, DAKOTA | — |
| 19089783 | SOLE STRUCTURE AND SHOE INCLUDING THE SOLE STRUCTURE | NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | — |
| 18869750 | MOISTURE-PERMEABLE WATERPROOFING LAYERED FABRIC, PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR, AND GARMENT OBTAINED USING SAME | GILLETT, JENNIFER ANN | — |
| 18930179 | HITTING TOOL SELECTION DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM, HITTING TOOL SELECTION DIAGNOSIS METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM STORING DIAGNOSIS PROGRAM | ELLIOTT, ANDREW JAMES | — |
| 18718095 | Grommet | BERRY, SAMANTHA MARIE | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19068954 | SOLE STRUCTURE AND SHOE INCLUDING THE SOLE STRUCTURE | NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | 38d overdue |
| 19318473 | SOLE STRUCTURE FOR A SHOE | KAVANAUGH, JOHN T | — |
| 19292736 | SOLE | MARIN, DAKOTA | — |
| 19274925 | SWIMSUIT | MARIN, DAKOTA | — |
| 19089783 | SOLE STRUCTURE AND SHOE INCLUDING THE SOLE STRUCTURE | NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | — |
| 18869750 | MOISTURE-PERMEABLE WATERPROOFING LAYERED FABRIC, PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR, AND GARMENT OBTAINED USING SAME | GILLETT, JENNIFER ANN | — |
| 18584122 | Racket Frame | KLAYMAN, AMIR ARIE | — |
| 18382758 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH SOLE SIDE FEATURES | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3732 | 5 |
| 3711 | 4 |
| 1786 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19318473 | SOLE STRUCTURE FOR A SHOE | KAVANAUGH, JOHN T | 3732 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 04, 2025 |
| 19292736 | SOLE | MARIN, DAKOTA | 3732 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 06, 2025 |
| 19274925 | SWIMSUIT | MARIN, DAKOTA | 3732 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 21, 2025 |
| 19089783 | SOLE STRUCTURE AND SHOE INCLUDING THE SOLE STRUCTURE | NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | 3732 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19068954 | SOLE STRUCTURE AND SHOE INCLUDING THE SOLE STRUCTURE | NUNNERY, GRADY ALEXANDER | 3732 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 38d overdue | Pending | Mar 03, 2025 |
| 18869750 | MOISTURE-PERMEABLE WATERPROOFING LAYERED FABRIC, PRODUCTION METHOD THEREFOR, AND GARMENT OBTAINED USING SAME | GILLETT, JENNIFER ANN | 1786 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 26, 2024 |
| 18930179 | HITTING TOOL SELECTION DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM, HITTING TOOL SELECTION DIAGNOSIS METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM STORING DIAGNOSIS PROGRAM | ELLIOTT, ANDREW JAMES | — | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 29, 2024 |
| 18718095 | Grommet | BERRY, SAMANTHA MARIE | 3711 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 10, 2024 |
| 18660661 | IRON GOLF CLUB HEAD | GORDEN, RAEANN | 3711 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 31d overdue | Pending | May 10, 2024 |
| 18584122 | Racket Frame | KLAYMAN, AMIR ARIE | 3711 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 22, 2024 |
| 18382758 | GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH SOLE SIDE FEATURES | PIERCE, WILLIAM M | 3711 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 23, 2023 |
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