Technology area: Chemistry & Materials
2 pending office actions • 1 art units • 2 examiners • 0 of 2 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 1 patents granted in the last 365 days
Vulcan Photonics Sdn Bhd is managing its intellectual property within the Chemistry & Materials technology area. The company currently has 2 pending office actions, which are being reviewed by 2 distinct examiners. This distribution shows that while the company has multiple active matters, each is being evaluated by a different individual, potentially leading to different examination styles or requirements. Managing these separate examiner relationships requires a flexible approach to prosecution that can adapt to different feedback and procedural expectations.
Despite the involvement of multiple examiners, all active prosecution is centralized within 1 distinct art unit. This concentration suggests that the company's filings are technically similar enough to fall under the same specialized group at the USPTO, allowing for some consistency in the technical background required for the cases. DRODGE, JOSEPH W is the busiest examiner for the company, currently overseeing 1 busiest examiner pending action. Practitioners should note that while the art unit is consistent, the presence of 2 distinct examiners requires tailored responses to each specific office action to address the unique concerns of each reviewer.
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 | 1 (50%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 1 (50%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DRODGE, JOSEPH W | 1 | 78.3% | +38.0% |
| VARMA, AKASH K | 1 | 66.6% | +34.1% |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18707654 | MILLIFLUIDIC CHROMATOGRAPHY PLATE | DRODGE, JOSEPH W | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18707654 | MILLIFLUIDIC CHROMATOGRAPHY PLATE | DRODGE, JOSEPH W | — |
| 18271709 | OIL-WATER SEPARATION FILTER AND APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME | VARMA, AKASH K | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1773 | 2 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18707654 | MILLIFLUIDIC CHROMATOGRAPHY PLATE | DRODGE, JOSEPH W | 1773 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 06, 2024 |
| 18271709 | OIL-WATER SEPARATION FILTER AND APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME | VARMA, AKASH K | 1773 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 11, 2023 |
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Start Free TrialVulcan Photonics Sdn Bhd has 2 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 1 art units and 2 examiners.
Joseph W Drodge has the most, with 1 of Vulcan Photonics Sdn Bhd's pending office actions.
Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.
