Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems • Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
9 pending office actions • 4 art units • 8 examiners • 0 of 9 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 15 patents granted in the last 365 days
VICTAULIC Company currently has 9 pending office actions within the Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering technology area. These 9 actions are being handled by 8 distinct examiners, which indicates that nearly every pending matter is being reviewed by a different individual. The portfolio is also distributed across 4 distinct art units, suggesting that the company's Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering applications are evaluated by several specialized technical groups within the patent office.
The busiest examiner for the portfolio is Choi, William Soon, who is responsible for 2 of the pending office actions. Since Choi, William Soon manages 2 out of the 9 total actions, this examiner's specific feedback and requirements will be a factor in the company's current prosecution efforts. The 4 distinct art units involved mean that the 9 pending office actions are subject to the specific guidelines of four different examination groups, requiring a tailored approach for each case.
Practitioners managing these 9 pending office actions must prioritize the relationship with Choi, William Soon, given their oversight of 2 cases. The presence of 8 distinct examiners and 4 distinct art units for 9 actions shows that the portfolio is distributed across multiple procedural silos. This distribution requires a strategy that addresses the specific technical nuances of each Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering art unit while managing the influence of the busiest examiner on the overall portfolio.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 6 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. 6 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 |
|---|---|
| §103 only | 2 (22%) |
| §102 only | 2 (22%) |
| §112 only | 1 (11%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (11%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 3 (33%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 2 | 74.4% | +11.3% |
| DUNWOODY, AARON M | 1 | 75.2% | +11.4% |
| LINFORD, JAMES ALBERT | 1 | 64.1% | +33.8% |
| HO, ANNA THI | 1 | 40.0% | +33.9% |
| HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | 1 | 69.5% | +49.6% |
| GORMAN, DARREN W | 1 | 79.1% | +24.9% |
| LU, HAOTIAN | 1 | 60.6% | +37.3% |
| KIM, CHRISTOPHER S | 1 | 63.3% | +21.5% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 3 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18759041 | FLEXIBLE DRY SPRINKLER | GORMAN, DARREN W | 22d |
| 19063902 | Coupling Having Visual Installation Indicators | CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 29d |
| 19546326 | Grooved Pipe Element and Coupling | DUNWOODY, AARON M | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17708135 | Fitting and Gasket | KIM, CHRISTOPHER S | 91d overdue |
| 18347343 | Roller Set Having a Burnishing Roller | LU, HAOTIAN | 23d overdue |
| 18765695 | Locking Bracket | HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | 15d |
| 18759041 | FLEXIBLE DRY SPRINKLER | GORMAN, DARREN W | 22d |
| 19063902 | Coupling Having Visual Installation Indicators | CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 29d |
| 19070904 | Method of Installing a Pipe Coupling | CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 60d |
| 19546326 | Grooved Pipe Element and Coupling | DUNWOODY, AARON M | — |
| 18813737 | Pipe Assembly Insulation and Vapor Barrier | LINFORD, JAMES ALBERT | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3679 | 4 |
| 3752 | 3 |
| 3726 | 1 |
| 3753 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19546326 | Grooved Pipe Element and Coupling | DUNWOODY, AARON M | 3679 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 21, 2026 |
| 19070904 | Method of Installing a Pipe Coupling | CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 3679 | §112DPOther | Non-Final OA | 60d | Pending | Mar 05, 2025 |
| 19063902 | Coupling Having Visual Installation Indicators | CHOI, WILLIAM SOON | 3679 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | 29d | Pending | Feb 26, 2025 |
| 18813737 | Pipe Assembly Insulation and Vapor Barrier | LINFORD, JAMES ALBERT | 3679 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 23, 2024 |
| 18798162 | STORAGE OCCUPANCY SPINKLER SYSTEM | HO, ANNA THI | 3752 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 08, 2024 |
| 18765695 | Locking Bracket | HOTCHKISS, MICHAEL WAYNE | 3726 | §102 | Final Rejection | 15d | Pending | Jul 08, 2024 |
| 18759041 | FLEXIBLE DRY SPRINKLER | GORMAN, DARREN W | 3752 | §102§112Other | Non-Final OA | 22d | Pending | Jun 28, 2024 |
| 18347343 | Roller Set Having a Burnishing Roller | LU, HAOTIAN | 3753 | §103 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Jul 05, 2023 |
| 17708135 | Fitting and Gasket | KIM, CHRISTOPHER S | 3752 | §112 | Non-Final OA | 91d overdue | Pending | Mar 30, 2022 |
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