Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026

Examiner: CONNELLY, MICHELLE R

Tech Center 2800 • Art Units: 2871 2874

This examiner grants 80% of resolved cases

Analysis

Michelle R. Connelly has managed 1036 resolved cases within Tech Center 2800. Working in Art Unit 2871, she maintains an allowance rate of 79.9 percent. This metric is essential for patent attorneys to gauge the likelihood of a favorable outcome and to tailor their prosecution approach accordingly.

The median days to allowance for this examiner is 857. This duration provides a concrete expectation for the length of time an application might remain in the prosecution phase. A period of 857 days is a significant factor in the strategic planning of a patent portfolio and the timing of potential patent rights.

Additionally, the data indicates an interview lift of 13.2 percent. This suggests that engaging in a direct dialogue with the examiner can notably improve the chances of allowance compared to the base rate of 79.9 percent. The 13.2 percent lift serves as a strong incentive for practitioners to utilize interviews as a tool to resolve outstanding issues and move the application toward a grant.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Performance Statistics

79.9%
Allow Rate
+11.9% vs TC avg
1,061
Total Applications
+13.2%
Interview Lift
857
Avg Prosecution Days
Based on 1036 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Rejection Statute Breakdown

0.5%
§101 Eligibility
29.9%
§102 Novelty
48.9%
§103 Obviousness
14.8%
§112 Clarity

Currently Pending Office Actions

App #TitleStatusAssignee
18918605 SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE Non-Final OA Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
18770283 LIGHT RECEIVING MODULE, DEVICE, AND METHOD Non-Final OA Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
18506362 OPTICAL CABLE Non-Final OA HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
18728360 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIGHT RECYCLING USING POLARIZATION AT AN INCOUPLER AND A REFLECTIVE STRUCTURE Non-Final OA GOOGLE LLC
17343280 TECHNOLOGIES FOR PHOTONIC DEMULTIPLEXERS Final Rejection Intel Corporation
17889233 FIBER ARRAY UNIT (FAU) DESIGNS TO ENABLE A HIGHER IO BANDWIDTH PER UNIT LENGTH AND HIGHER FIBER DENSITY Final Rejection Altera Corporation
18727168 LIGHT GUIDE PLATE AND IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE Non-Final OA SONY GROUP CORPORATION
18765935 OPTICAL DEVICE, OPTICAL TRANSMITTER, AND OPTICAL TRANSCEIVER Non-Final OA FUJITSU OPTICAL COMPONENTS LIMITED
18716605 OPTICAL FIBER CABLE AND OPTICAL FIBER CABLE CONNECTION SYSTEM Non-Final OA SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
18562593 OPTICAL WIRING COMPONENT, OPTICAL DEVICE, AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING OPTICAL DEVICE Non-Final OA SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
18468987 FIBER OPTIC CABLE ASSEMBLY HAVING JUNCTION SHELLS, JUNCTION SHELLS FOR USE WITH FIBER OPTIC CABLES, AND METHODS OF ASSEMBLING AND INSTALLING SAME Final Rejection CORNING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
18853412 FILTERING UNIT, OPTICAL TRANSMITTER UNIT, OPTICAL RECEIVER UNIT AND OPTICAL TRANSCEIVER UNIT Non-Final OA Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
18442976 2X2 COUPLER Final Rejection Cisco Technology, Inc.
18533054 OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE, SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE WITH OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE, AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME Non-Final OA Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
18786711 PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING SAME Non-Final OA Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
18816799 COMPACT OPTICAL BEAM COMBINER PACKAGE Non-Final OA Raytheon Company
18800847 AN EFFICIENT AND COMPACT MID-INFRARED POLARIZATION SPLITTER AND ROTATOR BASED ON A BIFURCATED TAPERED-BENT WAVEGUIDE Non-Final OA Khalifa University of Science and Technology
18443243 MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIZATION DIVERSIFIED OPTICAL RECEIVER CONFIGURATION Non-Final OA XILINX, INC.

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