Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems
97 pending office actions • 40 art units • 88 examiners • 34 of 97 (35%) have an AI response strategy ready • 222 patents granted in the last 365 days
Waymo LLC manages 95 pending office actions in the Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems technology area. These 95 pending office actions are distributed across 87 distinct examiners and 31 distinct art units. The 31 distinct art units indicate the technical range of the 95 pending office actions. The 87 distinct examiners assigned to the 95 pending office actions suggest that the company's legal team interacts with many different individuals at the USPTO. This breadth of examiners requires a robust strategy to maintain consistency across the portfolio.
KHATIB, RAMI is the busiest examiner for Waymo, currently overseeing 2 pending office actions. This count of 2 is a small fraction of the 95 total pending office actions. This distribution requires a prosecution strategy that addresses the 31 distinct art units involved in reviewing the company's mechanical and transportation systems. With 87 distinct examiners, the portfolio is distributed such that most of the 95 total pending actions are handled by different people. Practitioners must be prepared for a wide variety of procedural approaches across the 31 distinct art units to secure the company's intellectual property.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 28 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. 28 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 (1%) |
| §101 + other | 10 (10%) |
| §103 only | 48 (49%) |
| §102 only | 2 (2%) |
| Double-patenting only | 9 (9%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 4 (4%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 21 (22%) |
| No statute on record | 2 (2%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| KHATIB, RAMI | 2 | 77.1% | +13.9% |
| PECHE, JORGE O | 2 | 80.7% | +16.8% |
| VORCE, AMELIA J.I. | 2 | 73.6% | +20.4% |
| AMIN, BHAVESH V | 2 | 79.5% | +15.2% |
| HILGENDORF, DALE W | 2 | 84.1% | +21.6% |
| HELLNER, MARK | 2 | 90.4% | +8.5% |
| NOEL, JEMPSON | 2 | 66.5% | +32.2% |
| HULKA, JAMES R | 2 | 76.2% | +11.9% |
| XIAO, YUQING | 2 | 60.2% | +28.0% |
| RUSHING, MARK S | 1 | 76.7% | +23.6% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19257952 | LANE CHANGES FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES INVOLVING TRAFFIC STACKS AT INTERSECTION | PECHE, JORGE O | — |
| 19015091 | Actively Modifying a Field of View of an Autonomous Vehicle in View of Constraints | HILGENDORF, DALE W | — |
| 18959920 | Systems and Methods for Occlusion Detection | HELLNER, MARK | — |
| 18779594 | Light Detection using an Aperture | HELLNER, MARK | — |
| 18192431 | Methods and Systems for Modifying Power Consumption by an Autonomy System | PECHE, JORGE O | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17591130 | INCORPORATING POSITION ESTIMATION DEGRADATION INTO TRAJECTORY PLANNING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS | MANCHO, RONNIE M | 672d overdue |
| 18796553 | REAL-TIME LANE CHANGE SELECTION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | AMIN, BHAVESH V | 25d overdue |
| 18142429 | RARE EXAMPLE MINING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | VO, STEVEN | 22d overdue |
| 17398436 | HARD EXAMPLE MINING FOR TRAINING A NEURAL NETWORK | BAKER, EZRA JAMES | 9d overdue |
| 18981277 | GENERATING CONTROL INPUTS FOR AGENT TRAJECTORY PLANNING USING NEURAL NETWORKS | AN, IG TAI | 23d |
| 18989050 | ARRANGING TRIPS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES BASED ON WEATHER CONDITIONS | ALLEN, PAUL MCCARTHY | 28d |
| 18924713 | Reporting Road Event Data and Sharing with Other Vehicles | SLOWIK, ELIZABETH J | 33d |
| 17994991 | TRAINING A CLASSIFIER TO DETECT OPEN VEHICLE DOORS | KAPOOR, DEVAN | 33d |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18796553 | REAL-TIME LANE CHANGE SELECTION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | AMIN, BHAVESH V | 25d overdue |
| 17303770 | DETERMINATION OF ATMOSPHERIC VISIBILITY IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE APPLICATIONS | XIAO, YUQING | 14d |
| 16869682 | USING PREDICTION MODELS FOR SCENE DIFFICULTY IN VEHICLE ROUTING | KHATIB, RAMI | 27d |
| 17662239 | Mitigating Crosstalk from High-Intensity Returns in a Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) Device | XIAO, YUQING | 70d |
| 19309753 | EARLY BOARDING OF PASSENGERS IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | RUSHING, MARK S | — |
| 19299689 | WRONG-WAY DRIVING MODELING | KHATIB, RAMI | — |
| 19257952 | LANE CHANGES FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES INVOLVING TRAFFIC STACKS AT INTERSECTION | PECHE, JORGE O | — |
| 19212894 | Queueing into Pickup and Drop-off Locations | VORCE, AMELIA J.I. | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3645 | 11 |
| 3662 | 9 |
| 3668 | 6 |
| 3663 | 6 |
| 3669 | 5 |
| 3666 | 5 |
| 3661 | 4 |
| 3656 | 4 |
| 3657 | 4 |
| 3667 | 3 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19309753 | EARLY BOARDING OF PASSENGERS IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | RUSHING, MARK S | 2689 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 26, 2025 |
| 19299689 | WRONG-WAY DRIVING MODELING | KHATIB, RAMI | 3669 | §101§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 14, 2025 |
| 19283836 | ONBOARD CLUSTER TRACKING SYSTEM | NING, PETER Y | 3661 | Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 29, 2025 |
| 19276153 | PROVIDING WAIT TIMES FOR PICKUPS OF PASSENGERS INVOLVING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | LEE, JUSTIN S | 3668 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 22, 2025 |
| 19257952 | LANE CHANGES FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES INVOLVING TRAFFIC STACKS AT INTERSECTION | PECHE, JORGE O | 3656 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19258665 | Optical Sensor for Mirror Zero Angle in a Scanning Lidar | RODRIGUEZ, VICENTE M | 3642 | §103 | Final Rejection | 41d | AI Ready | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19251112 | Methods and Systems for Automatic Introspective Perception | DUNNE, KENNETH MICHAEL | 3661 | §103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 26, 2025 |
| 19245955 | PERIMETER SENSOR HOUSINGS | NGUYEN, TAN QUANG | 3661 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2025 |
| 19236021 | AUTO-EXPOSURE OCCLUSION CAMERA | LUU, THANH X | 2878 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 12, 2025 |
| 19231163 | MODELING AGENT DRIVING BEHAVIOR | SMITH, ISAAC G | 3662 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2025 |
| 19226442 | Continuing Lane Driving Prediction | MERLINO, DAVID P | 3665 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 03, 2025 |
| 19220715 | Methods and Systems for Adjusting Vehicle Behavior based on Estimated Unintentional Lateral Movements | ALAM, NAEEM TASLIM | 3668 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 28, 2025 |
| 19212894 | Queueing into Pickup and Drop-off Locations | VORCE, AMELIA J.I. | 3666 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 20, 2025 |
| 19211380 | ARRANGING PASSENGER TRIPS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | CROMER, ANDREW J | 3667 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 19, 2025 |
| 19209351 | ADAPTING FOUNDATION MODELS FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING | NECKEL, NATHAN DANIEL | 3656 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 15, 2025 |
| 19202681 | STEERING SYSTEM FAULT RESPONSE FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | REDA, MATTHEW J | 3665 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 08, 2025 |
| 19198574 | Interior Camera System for a Self Driving Car | PHAM, TOAN NGOC | 2685 | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 05, 2025 |
| 19199050 | Static Dome Assembly for LiDAR Systems | HANSEN, JONATHAN M | 2877 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 05, 2025 |
| 19197038 | SERVICE AREA MAPS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | NGUYEN, NGA B | 3625 | §101§102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 02, 2025 |
| 19186950 | Augmented Reality Wayfinding | TAN, OLIVER E | 3669 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 23, 2025 |
| 19091916 | ARRANGING PASSENGER PICKUPS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | AMIN, BHAVESH V | 3657 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 27, 2025 |
| 19083422 | DENIAL OF SERVICE RESPONSE TO THE DETECTION OF ILLICIT SIGNALS ON THE IN-VEHICLE COMMUNICATION NETWORK | GUNDRY, STEPHEN T | 2435 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 18, 2025 |
| 19058733 | Multiple Destination Trips For Autonomous Vehicles | LEE, TYLER J | 3663 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 20, 2025 |
| 19052077 | Impact Resistant Heated Window Mount for Thermal Camera | TANINGCO, MARCUS H | 2884 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 12, 2025 |
| 19049616 | SENSOR INTEGRATION FOR LARGE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | VORCE, AMELIA J.I. | 3666 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Feb 10, 2025 |
| 19034427 | CLASSIFICATION OF OBJECTS BASED ON MOTION PATTERNS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE APPLICATIONS | SHAIKH, FARIS ASIM | 3668 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 22, 2025 |
| 19015091 | Actively Modifying a Field of View of an Autonomous Vehicle in View of Constraints | HILGENDORF, DALE W | 3662 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
| 19011765 | DETECTING AND RESPONDING TO PROCESSIONS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES | ISMAIL, MAHMOUD S | 3662 | DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jan 07, 2025 |
| 18999012 | Systems and Methods for Data Communication via a Rotary Link | PEREZ, ANGELICA | 2649 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 23, 2024 |
| 18989050 | ARRANGING TRIPS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES BASED ON WEATHER CONDITIONS | ALLEN, PAUL MCCARTHY | 3669 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 28d | AI Ready | Dec 20, 2024 |
| 18981277 | GENERATING CONTROL INPUTS FOR AGENT TRAJECTORY PLANNING USING NEURAL NETWORKS | AN, IG TAI | 3662 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 23d | AI Ready | Dec 13, 2024 |
| 18978766 | Pedestrian Countdown Signal Classification to Increase Pedestrian Behavior Legibility | BITAR, NANCY | 2664 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 12, 2024 |
| 18969041 | HANDLING MANEUVER LIMITS FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SYSTEMS | MATTA, ALEXANDER GEORGE | 3668 | §103§112Other | Final Rejection | 41d | AI Ready | Dec 04, 2024 |
| 18959920 | Systems and Methods for Occlusion Detection | HELLNER, MARK | 3645 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 26, 2024 |
| 18959843 | MAPPING ACTIVE AND INACTIVE CONSTRUCTION ZONES FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING | BAAJOUR, SHAHIRA | 3666 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 26, 2024 |
| 18959357 | Monolithic Silicon Photomultiplier Array | WILLIAMS, DON J | 2878 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18955364 | TESTING A SCHEDULING SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES USING SIMULATIONS | SILVA, MICHAEL THOMAS | 3663 | §103 | Final Rejection | 11d overdue | AI Ready | Nov 21, 2024 |
| 18955396 | Methods and Systems for Real-time Automotive Radar Sensor Validation | GUYAH, REMASH RAJA | 3648 | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 21, 2024 |
| 18952239 | METHOD AND VEHICLE FOR RESPONDING TO A LANE BLOCKING OBJECT | REFAI, RAMSEY | 3664 | §102 | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | AI Ready | Nov 19, 2024 |
| 18953053 | END-TO-END OBJECT TRACKING USING NEURAL NETWORKS WITH ATTENTION | HILGENDORF, DALE W | 3662 | §101 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 19, 2024 |
| 18950830 | SCENE TOKENIZATION FOR MOTION PREDICTION | PERLMAN, DAVID S | 2673 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 18, 2024 |
| 18936116 | Railroad Light Detection | KUNTZ, JEWEL A | 3666 | §103 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | AI Ready | Nov 04, 2024 |
| 18930591 | Methods and Systems for Radar Reflection Filtering During Vehicle Navigation | MOORE, WHITNEY | 3646 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 29, 2024 |
| 18924713 | Reporting Road Event Data and Sharing with Other Vehicles | SLOWIK, ELIZABETH J | 3662 | §101§102§103 | Final Rejection | 33d | AI Ready | Oct 23, 2024 |
| 18921915 | Systems, Methods, and Apparatus for using Remote Assistance to Annotate Images of an Environment | MILLER, PRESTON JAY | 3661 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | AI Ready | Oct 21, 2024 |
| 18918915 | Programmable SiPM Arrays | FAYE, MAMADOU | 2884 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 17, 2024 |
| 18917449 | Optical Signal Routing Devices and Systems | MOONEY, MICHAEL P | 2874 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 16, 2024 |
| 18913074 | BEHAVIOR PREDICTION USING SCENE-CENTRIC REPRESENTATIONS | LAMBERT, GABRIEL JOSEPH RENE | 3669 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | AI Ready | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18905382 | IDENTIFICATION OF REAL AND IMAGE SIGN DETECTIONS IN DRIVING APPLICATIONS | WEBB, MARGARET G | 2641 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 03, 2024 |
| 18901951 | CAMERA PEEK INTO TURN | HESS, MICHAEL J | 2481 | §103Other | Final Rejection | 43d | AI Ready | Sep 30, 2024 |
IP Author helps IP teams respond to office actions faster with AI-generated responses, examiner analytics, and prosecution intelligence.
Start Free TrialWaymo LLC has 97 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 40 art units and 88 examiners.
Rami Khatib has the most, with 2 of Waymo LLC's pending office actions.
Mostly Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems (USPTO Tech Center 3600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.