Technology area: Chemistry & Materials
18 pending office actions • 15 art units • 16 examiners • 0 of 18 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 27 patents granted in the last 365 days
Umicore S.A. manages a significant portfolio with 17 pending office actions in the Chemistry & Materials technology area. These actions are distributed across 15 distinct examiners and 14 distinct art units. This high number of 14 distinct art units relative to the 17 pending office actions indicates that the company's chemical and materials research is highly diversified across many specialized technical fields. The busiest examiner, JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN, is responsible for 2 pending office actions, which shows that the workload is spread thin across the assigned staff.
For practitioners, this distribution means that prosecution strategies must be tailored to a wide variety of examiner styles and art unit expectations. The fact that actions are spread across 14 distinct art units suggests that Umicore S.A. is pursuing a broad range of innovations that do not fit into a single narrow chemical classification. With 15 distinct examiners involved, there is little opportunity for a centralized negotiation strategy. Instead, practitioners must manage the 17 pending office actions by addressing the unique technical requirements of each group. The low concentration of actions under JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN further emphasizes the need for a decentralized and highly customized approach to each filing, as no examiner handles more than 2 pending matters.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 4 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. 4 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 (6%) |
| §103 only | 7 (39%) |
| §102 only | 1 (6%) |
| §112 only | 1 (6%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (6%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 6 (33%) |
| No statute on record | 1 (6%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN | 2 | 51.9% | +76.5% |
| JONES, OLIVIA ANN | 2 | 58.6% | +52.3% |
| WORRELL JR, LARRY D | 1 | 82.8% | +9.8% |
| VETERE, ROBERT A | 1 | 61.5% | +12.8% |
| SMARI, ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED | 1 | 84.7% | +17.4% |
| TAYLOR, JORDAN W | 1 | 63.2% | +36.9% |
| VALENCIA, JUAN C | 1 | 86.4% | +7.8% |
| HOU, FRANK S | 1 | 67.8% | +36.7% |
| FIORITO, JAMES A | 1 | 71.6% | +28.0% |
| DAGENAIS, KRISTEN A | 1 | 64.0% | +19.8% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19149034 | USE OF A THREAD GUIDE FOR A KNITTING MACHINE FOR PRECIOUS METAL MESHES | WORRELL JR, LARRY D | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18552714 | One-Pot Synthesis of Transition Metal-Promoted Chabazites | TAYLOR, JORDAN W | 49d |
| 18696432 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICLE FILTER WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF FILTRATION EFFICIENCY | SMARI, ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED | — |
| 18550836 | GASOLINE PARTICLE FILTER WITH INCREASED FRESH FILTRATION | VALENCIA, JUAN C | — |
| 18246071 | BISMUT CONTAINING DIESELOXIDATION CATALYST | PHAN, ANNETTE HOANG-ANH | — |
| 18562315 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR SOLID-STATE LITHIUM-ION RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES | APPLEGATE, SARAH ARIMINTIA | — |
| 18249621 | ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL WITH A SPECIFIC LIQUID ELECTROLYTE | JONES, OLIVIA ANN | — |
| 17904309 | A METHOD FOR PREPARING A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES | LA RAIA III, LAWRENCE | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18302439 | Process and Apparatus for Curing Glass-fiber Paper Composites | DAGENAIS, KRISTEN A | 16d overdue |
| 18256407 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICLE FILTER WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF FILTERING EFFICIENCY | FIORITO, JAMES A | 5d |
| 18262516 | METAL COMPLEXES HAVING 4-H,6-H OR 8-H DIHYDROAZULENYL LIGANDS AND USE THEREOF | HOU, FRANK S | 21d |
| 18552714 | One-Pot Synthesis of Transition Metal-Promoted Chabazites | TAYLOR, JORDAN W | 49d |
| 19013399 | METHOD FOR COATING A WALL-FLOW FILTER | VETERE, ROBERT A | — |
| 18696432 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICLE FILTER WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF FILTRATION EFFICIENCY | SMARI, ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED | — |
| 18562316 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES | JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN | — |
| 18562318 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES | JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1736 | 2 |
| 1785 | 2 |
| 1789 | 2 |
| 3732 | 1 |
| 1712 | 1 |
| 1738 | 1 |
| 1771 | 1 |
| 1692 | 1 |
| 1731 | 1 |
| 1717 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19149034 | USE OF A THREAD GUIDE FOR A KNITTING MACHINE FOR PRECIOUS METAL MESHES | WORRELL JR, LARRY D | 3732 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2025 |
| 19013399 | METHOD FOR COATING A WALL-FLOW FILTER | VETERE, ROBERT A | 1712 | Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 08, 2025 |
| 18696432 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICLE FILTER WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF FILTRATION EFFICIENCY | SMARI, ABDUL-RAHMAN YUSUF WALEED | 1736 | §101§102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 28, 2024 |
| 18552714 | One-Pot Synthesis of Transition Metal-Promoted Chabazites | TAYLOR, JORDAN W | 1738 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 49d | Pending | Sep 27, 2023 |
| 18550836 | GASOLINE PARTICLE FILTER WITH INCREASED FRESH FILTRATION | VALENCIA, JUAN C | 1771 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 15, 2023 |
| 18262516 | METAL COMPLEXES HAVING 4-H,6-H OR 8-H DIHYDROAZULENYL LIGANDS AND USE THEREOF | HOU, FRANK S | 1692 | §102§112DP | Final Rejection | 21d | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18256407 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICLE FILTER WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF FILTERING EFFICIENCY | FIORITO, JAMES A | 1731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 5d | Pending | Jun 07, 2023 |
| 18302439 | Process and Apparatus for Curing Glass-fiber Paper Composites | DAGENAIS, KRISTEN A | 1717 | §103 | Final Rejection | 16d overdue | Pending | Apr 18, 2023 |
| 18246071 | BISMUT CONTAINING DIESELOXIDATION CATALYST | PHAN, ANNETTE HOANG-ANH | 1736 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 21, 2023 |
| 18721936 | A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR SECONDARY LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES | ZENG, LINGWEN R | 1723 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 20, 2024 |
| 18703517 | METHOD FOR PREPARING A PRECURSOR MATERIAL FOR A LI-CONTAINING CATHODE ACTIVE MATERIAL | KOPEC, MARK T | 1762 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 22, 2024 |
| 18562316 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES | JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN | 1785 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 19, 2023 |
| 18562318 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES | JACOBSON, SARAH JORDAN | 1785 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 19, 2023 |
| 18562315 | LITHIUM NICKEL-BASED COMPOSITE OXIDE AS A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR SOLID-STATE LITHIUM-ION RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES | APPLEGATE, SARAH ARIMINTIA | 1725 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 19, 2023 |
| 18249606 | ELECTROLYTE FOR LITHIUM SECONDARY BATTERIES | JONES, OLIVIA ANN | 1789 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 19, 2023 |
| 18249621 | ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL WITH A SPECIFIC LIQUID ELECTROLYTE | JONES, OLIVIA ANN | 1789 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 19, 2023 |
| 17904496 | A POWDER FOR USE IN THE NEGATIVE ELECTRODE OF A BATTERY, A METHOD FOR PREPARING SUCH A POWDER AND A BATTERY COMPRISING SUCH A POWDER | CHOI, EVERETT TIMOTHY | 1751 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 18, 2022 |
| 17904309 | A METHOD FOR PREPARING A POSITIVE ELECTRODE ACTIVE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERIES | LA RAIA III, LAWRENCE | 1727 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 16, 2022 |
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Start Free TrialUmicore S.A. has 18 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 15 art units and 16 examiners.
Sarah Jordan Jacobson has the most, with 2 of Umicore S.A.'s pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
