Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
57 pending office actions • 16 art units • 43 examiners • 0 of 57 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 354 patents granted in the last 365 days
Monsanto Technology LLC manages 55 pending office actions within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These actions are distributed across 14 distinct art units, reflecting a variety of specialized biological and chemical focuses. The prosecution involves 42 distinct examiners, which indicates that the company interacts with a wide range of USPTO staff. This distribution across 14 distinct art units suggests that the company's biotechnology research spans multiple specialized classifications.
Mykola V Kovalenko is the busiest examiner for the portfolio, currently overseeing 4 pending office actions. This is a relatively small portion of the 55 pending office actions, suggesting that the workload is not heavily concentrated with any single individual. With 42 distinct examiners involved, the company must manage diverse examination styles and requirements. The 14 distinct art units suggest that while the technology area is specific, the applications cover many different sub-disciplines. Practitioners should be prepared for varied examiner perspectives across the 42 distinct examiners currently assigned.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 18 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. 18 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 | 1 (2%) |
| §101 + other | 7 (12%) |
| §103 only | 10 (18%) |
| §102 only | 1 (2%) |
| §112 only | 7 (12%) |
| Double-patenting only | 7 (12%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 10 (18%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 14 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 4 | 69.5% | +25.8% |
| ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | 3 | 72.2% | +21.5% |
| KRUSE, DAVID H | 3 | 81.3% | +9.6% |
| STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 3 | 67.3% | +29.3% |
| LOGSDON, CHARLES | 2 | 71.7% | +11.2% |
| SULLIVAN, BRIAN JAMES | 2 | 76.9% | +14.4% |
| KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 2 | 78.3% | +14.5% |
| PAGE, BRENT T | 2 | 82.4% | +10.8% |
| CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 2 | 45.5% | +80.0% |
| SCHMID, BROOK VICTORIA | 1 | 28.0% | +60.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18330297 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR USE IN GENOME MODIFICATION IN PLANTS | PAGE, BRENT T | 49d overdue |
| 18661289 | SOYBEAN EVENT MON89788 AND METHODS FOR DETECTION THEREOF | KRUSE, DAVID H | — |
| 18504941 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SELECTIVE REGULATION OF PROTEIN EXPRESSION | KRUSE, DAVID H | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17987812 | SOYBEAN VARIETY 01094723 | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 157d overdue |
| 18643394 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING PLANT DETERMINACY | SHEN, YANXIN NMN | 49d overdue |
| 18377421 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF EMBRYO EXPLANT POPULATIONS | KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 25d overdue |
| 18587219 | Methods And Systems For Use In Defining Advancement Of Seed Products In Breeding | TORRES CHANZA, GABRIEL JOSE | 24d overdue |
| 17552431 | ENGINEERED SSDNASE-FREE CRISPR ENDONUCLEASES | REGA, KYLE THOMAS | 3d overdue |
| 17792607 | HERBICIDE COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING DICAMBA MONOETHANOLAMINE SALT AND A PPO-INHIBITOR | SCHLIENTZ, NATHAN W | 9d |
| 19215143 | Systems For Use In Pollinating Plants, And Related Methods | SCHMID, BROOK VICTORIA | — |
| 18910090 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR IMPROVING CROP YIELD TRAITS | KRUSE, DAVID H | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17987812 | SOYBEAN VARIETY 01094723 | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 157d overdue |
| 18330297 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR USE IN GENOME MODIFICATION IN PLANTS | PAGE, BRENT T | 49d overdue |
| 18538893 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR USE OF DIRECTED RECOMBINATION IN PLANT BREEDING | KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 42d overdue |
| 18377421 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF EMBRYO EXPLANT POPULATIONS | KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 25d overdue |
| 18306581 | TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN EVENT GM_CSM63714 AND METHODS FOR DETECTION AND USES THEREOF | STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 33d |
| 18586232 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SHORT STATURE PLANTS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF GIBBERELLIN METABOLISM TO INCREASE HARVESTABLE YIELD | LOGSDON, CHARLES | 34d |
| 18296392 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR IMPROVING RESISTANCE TO FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT | STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 72d |
| 18161120 | PLANTS COMPRISING A MUTANT GENE ENCODING PHYOTOCHROME A | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 83d |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1663 | 17 |
| 1662 | 13 |
| 3625 | 3 |
| 2857 | 3 |
| 1616 | 3 |
| 3642 | 2 |
| 1617 | 2 |
| 1661 | 1 |
| 1633 | 1 |
| 3672 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19360252 | GENOME EDITING IN PLANTS | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | 1662 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 16, 2025 |
| 19215143 | Systems For Use In Pollinating Plants, And Related Methods | SCHMID, BROOK VICTORIA | 3642 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 21, 2025 |
| 19205140 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR RNA-TEMPLATED EDITING IN PLANTS | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | — | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 12, 2025 |
| 19198339 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SHORT STATURE PLANTS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF GIBBERELLIN METABOLISM TO INCREASE HARVESTABLE YIELD | LOGSDON, CHARLES | — | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 05, 2025 |
| 19111938 | PLANT REGULATORY ELEMENTS AND USES THEREOF | JOHNSON, EMILY KATHARINE | 1662 | §103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 14, 2025 |
| 19080590 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR GENOME EDITING IN PLANTA | SULLIVAN, BRIAN JAMES | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 14, 2025 |
| 19016749 | COTTON TRANSGENIC EVENT MON 88701 AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 1662 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2025 |
| 18983993 | METHODS FOR PLANT TRANSFORMATION USING SPECTINOMYCIN SELECTION | ROBINSON, KEITH O NEAL | 1661 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 17, 2024 |
| 18984004 | METHOD FOR ACCELERATING PLANT CROP CYCLE | CALLAWAY, SPENCER THOMAS | 3642 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 17, 2024 |
| 18971656 | TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN EVENT GM_CSM63717 AND COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR DETECTION AND USES THEREOF | DELEO, VICTORIA LYNN | 1662 | §102§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 06, 2024 |
| 18949035 | PLANT REGULATORY ELEMENTS AND USES THEREOF | STANKOVIC, BRATISLAV | 1662 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 15, 2024 |
| 18921141 | METHODS TO IMPROVE SITE-DIRECTED INTEGRATION FREQUENCY | GU, QINHUA | 1633 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 21, 2024 |
| 18855973 | PLANT REGULATORY ELEMENTS AND USES THEREOF FOR AUTOEXCISION | MCWILLIAMS, KELSEY LYNN | 1663 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2024 |
| 18910090 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR IMPROVING CROP YIELD TRAITS | KRUSE, DAVID H | 1663 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 09, 2024 |
| 18908523 | METHOD FOR SELECTING TARGET SITES FOR SITE-SPECIFIC GENOME MODIFICATION IN PLANTS | ZHONG, WAYNESHAOBIN | 1662 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 07, 2024 |
| 18885363 | NOVEL INSECTICIDAL PROTEINS TOXIC OR INHIBITORY TO HEMIPTERAN PESTS | KUBELIK, ANNE R | 1663 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 78d | Pending | Sep 13, 2024 |
| 18819661 | TRANSGENIC BRASSICA EVENT MON 88302 AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 1662 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 29, 2024 |
| 18777480 | Harvesting Machines For Use In Harvesting Corn, And Related Methods | MARTINEZ, JOSE ANTONIO | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 18, 2024 |
| 18671866 | TREATMENT APPLICATORS | WOOD, DOUGLAS S | 3672 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 22, 2024 |
| 18661289 | SOYBEAN EVENT MON89788 AND METHODS FOR DETECTION THEREOF | KRUSE, DAVID H | 1663 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 10, 2024 |
| 18643394 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING PLANT DETERMINACY | SHEN, YANXIN NMN | 1663 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 49d overdue | Pending | Apr 23, 2024 |
| 18635544 | TRANSGENIC MAIZE EVENT MON 87419 AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 1662 | §112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 15, 2024 |
| 18587219 | Methods And Systems For Use In Defining Advancement Of Seed Products In Breeding | TORRES CHANZA, GABRIEL JOSE | 3625 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | 24d overdue | Pending | Feb 26, 2024 |
| 18586232 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SHORT STATURE PLANTS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF GIBBERELLIN METABOLISM TO INCREASE HARVESTABLE YIELD | LOGSDON, CHARLES | 1662 | DP | Final Rejection | 34d | Pending | Feb 23, 2024 |
| 18580076 | COMPOSITIONS WITH MICROENCAPSULATED ACETAMIDE AND METAL-CHELATED MESOTRIONE | MEYERS, ELIZABETH ANNE | 1617 | §103§112DP | Final Rejection | 4d overdue | Pending | Jan 17, 2024 |
| 18538893 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR USE OF DIRECTED RECOMBINATION IN PLANT BREEDING | KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 1663 | §103 | Final Rejection | 42d overdue | Pending | Dec 13, 2023 |
| 18504941 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SELECTIVE REGULATION OF PROTEIN EXPRESSION | KRUSE, DAVID H | 1663 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 08, 2023 |
| 18377421 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF EMBRYO EXPLANT POPULATIONS | KEOGH, MATTHEW R | 1663 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 25d overdue | Pending | Oct 06, 2023 |
| 18286005 | ENCAPSULATED MICROBIAL COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME | DICKENS, AMELIA NICOLE | 1645 | §103 | Final Rejection | 9d overdue | Pending | Oct 06, 2023 |
| 18235761 | Methods And Systems For Use In Harvesting Crops | BROWN, SARA GRACE | 3625 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 18, 2023 |
| 18231121 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR USE IN SEED PRODUCTION | LOFTIS, JOHNNA RONEE | 3625 | §101§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2023 |
| 18226703 | Methods And Systems For Use In Scan-Based Analysis Of Crops | GAVIA, NYLA EMANI ANN | 2857 | §101 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 26, 2023 |
| 18215789 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR GENERATING REGULATORY ELEMENTS | LIN, JERRY | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 28, 2023 |
| 18267061 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR SHORT STATURE PLANTS THROUGH MANIPULATION OF GIBBERELLIN METABOLISM | SHARMA, SANTOSH | 1663 | §102§103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2023 |
| 18330297 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR USE IN GENOME MODIFICATION IN PLANTS | PAGE, BRENT T | 1663 | DP | Final Rejection | 49d overdue | Pending | Jun 06, 2023 |
| 18201158 | Methods And Systems For Use In Implementing Resources In Plant Breeding | RIVERA VARGAS, MANUEL A | 2857 | DP | Non-Final OA | 73d overdue | Pending | May 23, 2023 |
| 18253652 | Methods and Compositions for Generating Dominant Brachytic Alleles Using Genome Editing | ZHENG, LI | 1662 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 19, 2023 |
| 18311941 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR MODIFYING ROOT ARCHITECTURE AND/OR IMPROVING PLANT YIELD TRAITS | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 1662 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | May 04, 2023 |
| 18306581 | TRANSGENIC SOYBEAN EVENT GM_CSM63714 AND METHODS FOR DETECTION AND USES THEREOF | STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 1663 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 33d | Pending | Apr 25, 2023 |
| 18134518 | Methods And Systems For Identifying Hybrids For Use In Plant Breeding | LEVERETT, MARY CHANG | 1672 | §101§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 13, 2023 |
| 18296392 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR IMPROVING RESISTANCE TO FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT | STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 1663 | §103 | Final Rejection | 72d | Pending | Apr 06, 2023 |
| 18028173 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS RELATING TO PROTOCOLS IN PLANT BREEDING PIPELINES | PAGE, BRENT T | 1663 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 23, 2023 |
| 18176206 | MANAGEMENT OF CORN THROUGH SEMI-DWARF SYSTEMS | FAN, WEIHUA | 1663 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 82d | Pending | Feb 28, 2023 |
| 18021841 | MICROCAPSULE WITH ACETAMIDES AND DIFLUFENICAN | ZHANG SPIERING, DONGXIU | 1616 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 13d | Pending | Feb 17, 2023 |
| 18161120 | PLANTS COMPRISING A MUTANT GENE ENCODING PHYOTOCHROME A | CHATTERJEE, JAYANTA | 1662 | §103 | Final Rejection | 83d | Pending | Jan 30, 2023 |
| 17987812 | SOYBEAN VARIETY 01094723 | KOVALENKO, MYKOLA V | 1662 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | 157d overdue | Pending | Nov 15, 2022 |
| 18053629 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING PLANT DETERMINACY | ORDAZ, CHRISTIAN JOSE | 1663 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 08, 2022 |
| 17956119 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR USE IN PROCESSING IMAGES RELATED TO CROPS | QUIGLEY, KYLE ROBERT | 2857 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 29, 2022 |
| 17792604 | HERBICIDE COMPOSITIONS WITH AUXIN HERBICIDE MONOETHANOLAMINE SALTS WITH IMPROVED PROPERTIES | KWON, YONG SOK | 1600 | §103§112DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 13, 2022 |
| 17792611 | MICROEMULSIONS WITH DICAMBA SALTS HAVING IMPROVED PROPERTIES | STEINKE, SEAN JAMES | 1619 | §103§112DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 13, 2022 |
| 17792607 | HERBICIDE COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING DICAMBA MONOETHANOLAMINE SALT AND A PPO-INHIBITOR | SCHLIENTZ, NATHAN W | 1616 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 9d | Pending | Jul 13, 2022 |
| 17836783 | METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR ALTERING PROTEIN ACCUMULATION | STEPHENS, REBECCA JOHANNA | 1663 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 09, 2022 |
| 17707600 | ACCELERATED METHOD FOR GENERATING TARGET ELITE INBREDS WITH SPECIFIC AND DESIGNED TRAIT MODIFICATION | SULLIVAN, BRIAN JAMES | 1663 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 29, 2022 |
| 17590095 | INTERMEDIATE RECURRENT PARENTS, AN ACCELERATED AND EFFICIENT MULTI-LAYER TRAIT DELIVERY SYSTEM | STRIEGEL, THEODORE CHARLES | 1685 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 01, 2022 |
| 17625962 | Herbicidal Mixtures Containing Amine Salts of Acidic Herbicides | PIPIC, ALMA | 1617 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 10, 2022 |
| 17552431 | ENGINEERED SSDNASE-FREE CRISPR ENDONUCLEASES | REGA, KYLE THOMAS | 1636 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | Pending | Dec 16, 2021 |
| 16585272 | COTTON SEED PROCESSING | RUNYAN, SILVANA C | 1616 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 27, 2019 |
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