Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Chemistry & Materials
28 pending office actions • 20 art units • 28 examiners • 0 of 28 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 30 patents granted in the last 365 days
William Marsh Rice University currently has 27 pending office actions within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These actions are distributed across 27 distinct examiners, meaning that every pending case is being reviewed by a different individual. Furthermore, the portfolio spans 19 distinct art units, reflecting a high degree of technical diversity within the life sciences sector.
NGUYEN, DUNE NGOC is identified as the busiest examiner with 1 pending case. This indicates that there is no concentration of work under any single examiner, as the busiest examiner's workload matches the single-case-per-examiner trend seen across the 27 distinct examiners. For practitioners, this means that every one of the 27 pending office actions requires a unique approach tailored to a specific examiner's tendencies and the particular requirements of 19 different art units.
The breadth of 19 distinct art units suggests that the university's research covers a wide array of biological and pharmaceutical sub-disciplines. Managing such a fragmented portfolio requires significant coordination, as there are no opportunities to leverage a relationship with a single examiner to resolve multiple cases. The practitioner must be prepared to navigate the distinct procedural nuances of 19 different technical groups while addressing the specific legal and technical arguments raised by 27 different examiners within the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals area.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 11 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. 11 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 | 5 (18%) |
| §103 only | 6 (21%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (4%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 2 (7%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 14 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGUYEN, DUNE NGOC | 1 | — | — |
| SAMARA, HUSAM TURKI | 1 | 55.7% | +17.6% |
| WHITE, SADIE | 1 | 48.8% | +31.6% |
| NASSIRI MOTLAGH, ANITA | 1 | 55.9% | +24.6% |
| NGUYEN, CAO H | 1 | 90.9% | +7.4% |
| AMIN, MUSTAFA A | 1 | 64.1% | +29.9% |
| GILLIARD, DELOMIA L | 1 | 89.6% | +10.4% |
| BAUM, ZACHARY JOHN | 1 | 81.5% | +14.9% |
| ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | 1 | 57.8% | +49.0% |
| BERHANU, ETSUB D | 1 | 65.3% | +24.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18905992 | FLUIDICALLY PROGRAMMED WEARABLE HAPTIC DEVICES | NGUYEN, CAO H | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18557747 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR CHIMERIC AMPLICON FORMATION | SALMON, KATHERINE D | 28d overdue |
| 18182924 | System and Method for Low-Rank Tensor Decomposition with Neural Network Priors | PHAM, JESSICA THUY | 17d overdue |
| 18003412 | AMPLICON COMPREHENSIVE ENRICHMENT | BERTAGNA, ANGELA MARIE | 3d overdue |
| 18871122 | SOLUTION-PROCESSED PEROVSKITE HETEROSTRUCTURES | WHITE, SADIE | 15d |
| 18118834 | ANODES, CATHODES, AND SEPARATORS FOR BATTERIES AND METHODS TO MAKE AND USE SAME | CARRICO, ROBERT SCOTT | 26d |
| 19195045 | Private and Decentralized 3D from Crowd Sourced Image Data | NGUYEN, DUNE NGOC | — |
| 18863937 | FLASH JOULE HEATING FOR PRODUCTION OF 1D CARBON AND/OR BORON NITRIDE NANOMATERIALS | NASSIRI MOTLAGH, ANITA | — |
| 18778478 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING AND USING SHUFFLE TEMPLATES TO DISTRIBUTE DATA AMONG WORKERS COMPRISING COMPUTE RESOURCES IN A DATA CENTER | AMIN, MUSTAFA A | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18871122 | SOLUTION-PROCESSED PEROVSKITE HETEROSTRUCTURES | WHITE, SADIE | 15d |
| 19067354 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPERATING LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS USING SINGLE-INSTRUCTION-MULTIPLE-DATA REGISTERS | SAMARA, HUSAM TURKI | 70d |
| 18863937 | FLASH JOULE HEATING FOR PRODUCTION OF 1D CARBON AND/OR BORON NITRIDE NANOMATERIALS | NASSIRI MOTLAGH, ANITA | — |
| 18778478 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING AND USING SHUFFLE TEMPLATES TO DISTRIBUTE DATA AMONG WORKERS COMPRISING COMPUTE RESOURCES IN A DATA CENTER | AMIN, MUSTAFA A | — |
| 18737264 | NEURAL WAVEFRONT SHAPING FOR GUIDESTAR-FREE IMAGING THROUGH AN OBSCURANT | GILLIARD, DELOMIA L | — |
| 18735513 | Synthesis of Metallic Glass Nanoparticles by Flash Carbothermic Reactions and Compositions Thereof | BAUM, ZACHARY JOHN | — |
| 18667652 | NON-INVASIVE SITE-SPECIFIC MEASUREMENT OF TRANSGENE EXPRESSION IN THE BRAIN | ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | — |
| 18665034 | RAPID SAMPLING OF INTERSTITIAL FLUID USING A MICRONEEDLE ARRAY AND VACCUM-ASSISTED SKIN PATCH | BERHANU, ETSUB D | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1681 | 2 |
| 1600 | 2 |
| 2161 | 1 |
| 1721 | 1 |
| 2661 | 1 |
| 1732 | 1 |
| 3791 | 1 |
| 1612 | 1 |
| 1682 | 1 |
| 1728 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19195045 | Private and Decentralized 3D from Crowd Sourced Image Data | NGUYEN, DUNE NGOC | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 30, 2025 |
| 19067354 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPERATING LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS USING SINGLE-INSTRUCTION-MULTIPLE-DATA REGISTERS | SAMARA, HUSAM TURKI | 2161 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 70d | Pending | Feb 28, 2025 |
| 18871122 | SOLUTION-PROCESSED PEROVSKITE HETEROSTRUCTURES | WHITE, SADIE | 1721 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 15d | Pending | Dec 02, 2024 |
| 18863937 | FLASH JOULE HEATING FOR PRODUCTION OF 1D CARBON AND/OR BORON NITRIDE NANOMATERIALS | NASSIRI MOTLAGH, ANITA | — | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 07, 2024 |
| 18905992 | FLUIDICALLY PROGRAMMED WEARABLE HAPTIC DEVICES | NGUYEN, CAO H | — | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 03, 2024 |
| 18778478 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR PROVIDING AND USING SHUFFLE TEMPLATES TO DISTRIBUTE DATA AMONG WORKERS COMPRISING COMPUTE RESOURCES IN A DATA CENTER | AMIN, MUSTAFA A | — | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 19, 2024 |
| 18737264 | NEURAL WAVEFRONT SHAPING FOR GUIDESTAR-FREE IMAGING THROUGH AN OBSCURANT | GILLIARD, DELOMIA L | 2661 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 07, 2024 |
| 18735513 | Synthesis of Metallic Glass Nanoparticles by Flash Carbothermic Reactions and Compositions Thereof | BAUM, ZACHARY JOHN | 1732 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2024 |
| 18667652 | NON-INVASIVE SITE-SPECIFIC MEASUREMENT OF TRANSGENE EXPRESSION IN THE BRAIN | ZAHORIK, AMANDA MARY | — | §103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 17, 2024 |
| 18665034 | RAPID SAMPLING OF INTERSTITIAL FLUID USING A MICRONEEDLE ARRAY AND VACCUM-ASSISTED SKIN PATCH | BERHANU, ETSUB D | 3791 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 15, 2024 |
| 18703201 | METHODS OF USE AND ADMINISTRATION OF ENCAPSULATED CELLS | KELLY, ROBERT M | — | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 19, 2024 |
| 18293734 | IDENTIFICATION OF PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY LIPIDS RELATING TO IMMUNE RESPONSE TO MEDICAL IMPLANTS | MAEWALL, SNIGDHA | 1612 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 30, 2024 |
| 18557747 | COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR CHIMERIC AMPLICON FORMATION | SALMON, KATHERINE D | 1682 | §101§102 | Final Rejection | 28d overdue | Pending | Oct 27, 2023 |
| 18264646 | FLASH RECYCLING OF BATTERIES | HORNSBY, BARTHOLOMEW ANDREW | 1728 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 08, 2023 |
| 18258550 | IMPLANTABLE CONSTRUCTS FOR MODULATING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE | CHEONG, CHEOM-GIL | 1645 | DP | Non-Final OA | 9d | Pending | Jun 20, 2023 |
| 18246451 | ULTRAFAST FLASH JOULE HEATING SYNTHESIS METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PERFORMING SAME | FIGUEROA, JOHN J | 1763 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 23, 2023 |
| 18182924 | System and Method for Low-Rank Tensor Decomposition with Neural Network Priors | PHAM, JESSICA THUY | 2121 | §101§102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 17d overdue | Pending | Mar 13, 2023 |
| 18118834 | ANODES, CATHODES, AND SEPARATORS FOR BATTERIES AND METHODS TO MAKE AND USE SAME | CARRICO, ROBERT SCOTT | 1727 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | 26d | Pending | Mar 08, 2023 |
| 18109457 | VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE FOR FLASH JOULE HEATING SYSTEM AND METHOD | BELAY, DILNESSA B | 1736 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2023 |
| 18168401 | 3D PRINTED SILICA WITH NANOSCALE RESOLUTION | MACHNESS, ARIELLA | 1743 | §103 | Final Rejection | 23d overdue | Pending | Feb 13, 2023 |
| 18003412 | AMPLICON COMPREHENSIVE ENRICHMENT | BERTAGNA, ANGELA MARIE | 1681 | §101§103§112 | Final Rejection | 3d overdue | Pending | Dec 27, 2022 |
| 17999960 | NON-EXTENSIBLE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES IN DNA AMPLIFICATION REACTIONS | CASH, KAILEY ELIZABETH | 1683 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 28, 2022 |
| 17997696 | QUANTITATIVE BLOCKER DISPLACEMENT AMPLIFICATION (QBDA) SEQUENCING FOR CALIBRATION-FREE AND MULTIPLEXED VARIANT ALLELE FREQUENCY QUANTITATION | PRIEST, AARON A | 1681 | §103DP | Final Rejection | 43d overdue | Pending | Nov 01, 2022 |
| 17972053 | GREEN HIGH STRENGTH CEMENT | GUINO-O UZZLE, MARITES A | 1731 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 2d overdue | Pending | Oct 24, 2022 |
| 17773572 | ENGINEERED CELLS FOR CONTROLLED PRODUCTION | BRETZ, COREY LANE | 1600 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 29, 2022 |
| 17054312 | PROXIMITY INDUCED SITE-SPECIFIC ANTIBODY CONJUGATION | VAN DRUFF, SYDNEY | 1643 | §103 | Final Rejection | 12d | Pending | Nov 10, 2020 |
| 16860004 | MULTIVASCULAR NETWORKS AND FUNCTIONAL INTRAVASCULAR TOPOLOGIES WITHIN BIOCOMPATIBLE HYDROGELS | PELLEGRINO, BRIAN E | 3799 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 27, 2020 |
| 15550951 | MATERIALS AND METHODS FOR TREATMENT OF HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES | CANDELARIA, JULIANA IRENE | 1600 | §103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 14, 2017 |
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