Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems
23 pending office actions • 4 art units • 10 examiners • 0 of 23 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 33 patents granted in the last 365 days
YKK Corporation manages 23 pending office actions within the Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems technology area. These matters are distributed among 10 distinct examiners and 4 distinct art units. This shows a relatively high concentration of cases per examiner, as 10 distinct examiners are handling the 23 total actions, suggesting a more focused interaction with patent office personnel.
DO, ROWLAND is the busiest examiner for this portfolio, managing 8 pending office actions. This represents a significant portion of the company's 23 pending actions. Because the portfolio is also concentrated in only 4 distinct art units, the company's prosecution strategy is heavily influenced by a small number of examiners and administrative groups. Practitioners should focus on the 8 actions under DO, ROWLAND to identify potential efficiencies or recurring issues that may affect the broader portfolio. The concentration in 4 distinct art units allows for a more targeted analysis of group-level trends.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 1 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
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 | 6 (26%) |
| §102 only | 2 (9%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 15 (65%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DO, ROWLAND | 8 | 69.9% | -5.6% |
| LEE, MICHAEL S | 3 | 63.0% | +20.8% |
| MERCADO, LOUIS A | 2 | 78.8% | +18.4% |
| BROOKS, KARA JEAN | 2 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| UPCHURCH, DAVID M | 2 | 73.7% | +18.0% |
| SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | 2 | 62.9% | +22.9% |
| GRABER, MARIA EILEEN | 1 | 62.2% | +32.2% |
| LAVINDER, JACK W | 1 | 65.3% | +28.2% |
| PLESZCZYNSKA, JOANNA | 1 | 54.4% | +28.0% |
| HALL, ZACHARY A | 1 | 61.9% | +49.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18950186 | SLIDER AND FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | 8d overdue |
| 19344185 | SLIDE FASTENER-ATTACHED PRODUCT | MERCADO, LOUIS A | — |
| 19272110 | ZIPPER | BROOKS, KARA JEAN | — |
| 19209404 | SLIDER FOR CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENER | UPCHURCH, DAVID M | — |
| 19124190 | SLIDE FASTENER, AND TOP STOP USED IN SLIDE FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | — |
| 19107995 | FASTENER | BROOKS, KARA JEAN | — |
| 19048732 | FASTENING DEVICE | DO, ROWLAND | — |
| 19035098 | SLIDE FASTENER PULL TAB WITH PULL TAB AUXILIARY PART ROTATABLY ASSEMBLED AND DISASSEMBLED, AND SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER | DO, ROWLAND | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18950186 | SLIDER AND FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | 8d overdue |
| 19344185 | SLIDE FASTENER-ATTACHED PRODUCT | MERCADO, LOUIS A | — |
| 19209404 | SLIDER FOR CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENER | UPCHURCH, DAVID M | — |
| 19124190 | SLIDE FASTENER, AND TOP STOP USED IN SLIDE FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | — |
| 19121750 | CLIP AND CLIP CONNECTOR | GRABER, MARIA EILEEN | — |
| 18966130 | TAB PULL FOR FASTENER | LEE, MICHAEL S | — |
| 18909826 | BUCKLE PART AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME | UPCHURCH, DAVID M | — |
| 18846548 | SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER | LAVINDER, JACK W | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3677 | 19 |
| 3644 | 1 |
| 1783 | 1 |
| 3678 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19344185 | SLIDE FASTENER-ATTACHED PRODUCT | MERCADO, LOUIS A | 3677 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 29, 2025 |
| 19272110 | ZIPPER | BROOKS, KARA JEAN | 3677 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2025 |
| 19209404 | SLIDER FOR CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENER | UPCHURCH, DAVID M | — | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 15, 2025 |
| 19124190 | SLIDE FASTENER, AND TOP STOP USED IN SLIDE FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | 3677 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 24, 2025 |
| 19121750 | CLIP AND CLIP CONNECTOR | GRABER, MARIA EILEEN | 3644 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 16, 2025 |
| 19107995 | FASTENER | BROOKS, KARA JEAN | 3677 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 28, 2025 |
| 19048732 | FASTENING DEVICE | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 07, 2025 |
| 19035098 | SLIDE FASTENER PULL TAB WITH PULL TAB AUXILIARY PART ROTATABLY ASSEMBLED AND DISASSEMBLED, AND SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 23, 2025 |
| 18966130 | TAB PULL FOR FASTENER | LEE, MICHAEL S | 3677 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 03, 2024 |
| 18950186 | SLIDER AND FASTENER | SULLIVAN, MATTHEW J | 3677 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 8d overdue | Pending | Nov 18, 2024 |
| 18866062 | Surface Fastener and Molding Device | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18909826 | BUCKLE PART AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME | UPCHURCH, DAVID M | 3677 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 08, 2024 |
| 18846548 | SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SLIDE FASTENER SLIDER | LAVINDER, JACK W | 3677 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 12, 2024 |
| 18770903 | Waterproof Fastener Tape | PLESZCZYNSKA, JOANNA | 1783 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 12, 2024 |
| 18672668 | CONNECTING TOOL AND CONNECTING STRUCTURE | HALL, ZACHARY A | 3678 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 23, 2024 |
| 18708817 | FASTENER CHAIN | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 09, 2024 |
| 18632918 | SURFACE FASTENER | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 11, 2024 |
| 18686665 | METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING FASTENER-ATTACHED PRODUCT, FASTENER-ATTACHED PRODUCT, AND STRINGER MEMBER | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 26, 2024 |
| 18294916 | HOOK-TO-HOOK FASTENER | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 02, 2024 |
| 18285026 | METHOD FOR PRODUCING SLIDE FASTENER STRINGER HAVING COLORED METAL ELEMENT, METAL ELEMENT, SLIDE FASTENER STRINGER AND SLIDE FASTENER CHAIN | LEE, MICHAEL S | 3677 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 29, 2023 |
| 18263113 | Decoration Receiving Element, Slider and Decoration Receiving Element, and Hidden Slide Fastener | DO, ROWLAND | 3677 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 26, 2023 |
| 18272781 | FASTENER TAPE | LEE, MICHAEL S | 3677 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2023 |
| 18032106 | WATERPROOF SLIDE FASTENER AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME | MERCADO, LOUIS A | 3677 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 14, 2023 |
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