Technology area: Chemistry & Materials
4 pending office actions • 2 art units • 4 examiners • 0 of 4 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready
VDM METALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH has 4 pending office actions within the Chemistry & Materials technology area. These actions are handled by 4 distinct examiners, ensuring that each pending matter is reviewed by a different individual. Despite the variety of examiners, the work is concentrated in only 2 distinct art units. This structure suggests that while the technical focus is limited to 2 art units, the prosecution involves 4 different examiner viewpoints. The 4 pending office actions represent a distributed workload across the 4 distinct examiners.
SMITH, CATHERINE P is the busiest examiner for the company, with 1 pending office action. The busiest examiner pending count of 1 reflects the even distribution of the 4 pending office actions across the 4 distinct examiners. Because no examiner handles more than 1 pending office action, there is no single point of contact for multiple cases. The 2 distinct art units indicate that the 4 distinct examiners are likely working within closely related technical groups. This combination of 4 examiners and 2 art units requires a strategy that accounts for individual examiner preferences within a narrow administrative range. SMITH, CATHERINE P is 1 of the 4 individuals managing the company's workload.
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 (25%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 3 (75%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMITH, CATHERINE P | 1 | 16.1% | +16.8% |
| FLORES, JAVIER | 1 | 0.0% | +0.0% |
| PULLEN, NIKOLAS TAKUYA | 1 | 52.5% | +8.4% |
| ALDAZ CERVANTES, MAYELA RENATA | 1 | 73.5% | +35.4% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 4 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18850104 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SUPPORT FILM FOR CATALYTIC CONVERTERS | SMITH, CATHERINE P | — |
| 18841834 | USE OF A NICKEL-IRON-CHROMIUM ALLOY HAVING HIGH RESISTANCE IN HIGHLY CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY GOOD PROCESSABILITY AND STRENGTH | FLORES, JAVIER | — |
| 18832179 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPONENT FROM THE SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCT OF A NICKEL-CHROMIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOY | PULLEN, NIKOLAS TAKUYA | — |
| 18724678 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPONENT MADE OF A NICKEL-CHROMIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOY AND PROVIDED WITH WELD SEAMS | ALDAZ CERVANTES, MAYELA RENATA | — |
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 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18850104 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SUPPORT FILM FOR CATALYTIC CONVERTERS | SMITH, CATHERINE P | — |
| 18724678 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPONENT MADE OF A NICKEL-CHROMIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOY AND PROVIDED WITH WELD SEAMS | ALDAZ CERVANTES, MAYELA RENATA | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1735 | 2 |
| 1733 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18850104 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A SUPPORT FILM FOR CATALYTIC CONVERTERS | SMITH, CATHERINE P | 1735 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 24, 2024 |
| 18841834 | USE OF A NICKEL-IRON-CHROMIUM ALLOY HAVING HIGH RESISTANCE IN HIGHLY CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENTS AND SIMULTANEOUSLY GOOD PROCESSABILITY AND STRENGTH | FLORES, JAVIER | 1735 | §101§103§112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18832179 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPONENT FROM THE SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCT OF A NICKEL-CHROMIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOY | PULLEN, NIKOLAS TAKUYA | 1733 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 23, 2024 |
| 18724678 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COMPONENT MADE OF A NICKEL-CHROMIUM-ALUMINUM ALLOY AND PROVIDED WITH WELD SEAMS | ALDAZ CERVANTES, MAYELA RENATA | 1733 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 27, 2024 |
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Start Free TrialVDM METALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH has 4 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 2 art units and 4 examiners.
Catherine P Smith has the most, with 1 of VDM METALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH's pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
