Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026

Examiner: MCGUTHRY BANKS, TIMA MICHELE

Tech Center 1700 • Art Units: 1733 1793

This examiner grants 82% of resolved cases

Performance Statistics

81.5%
Allow Rate
+16.5% vs TC avg
1219
Total Applications
+1.9%
Interview Lift
931
Avg Prosecution Days
Based on 1154 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Rejection Statute Breakdown

0.8%
§101 Eligibility
19.4%
§102 Novelty
40.3%
§103 Obviousness
33.0%
§112 Clarity

Currently Pending Office Actions

App #TitleStatusAssignee
18370016 LEAD-FREE SOLDER ALLOY COMPOSITION, SOLDER BALL INCLUDING THE SAME, SOLDER PASTE INCLUDING THE LEAD-FREE SOLDER ALLOY COMPOSITION, SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INCLUDING HYBRID BONDING STRUCTURE INCLUDING THE LEAD-FREE SOLDER ALLOY COMPOSITION, AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SOLDER PASTE INCLUDING THE LEAD-FREE SOLDER ALLOY COMPOSITION Non-Final OA SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
18162851 SINGLE-STEP PROCESS FOR SELECTIVE HEAT TREATMENT OF METALS USING MULTIPLE HEATING SOURCES Final Rejection RTX Corporation
18278022 Method of manufacturing steel Non-Final OA ArcelorMittal
18019897 Soft Magnetic Material, Method for Producing Soft Magnetic Material, and Electric Motor Final Rejection Hitachi, Ltd.
18035104 ALLOY MEMBER MANUFACTURING METHOD, ALLOY MEMBER, AND PRODUCT USING ALLOY MEMBER Non-Final OA Proterial, Ltd.
18551822 METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A METAL ALLOY PART FOR A TURBINE ENGINE Non-Final OA SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES
18285516 SURFACE-TREATED STEEL SHEET Non-Final OA NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
18162835 SOLDER AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENT Non-Final OA TDK Corporation
17921249 MELTING/REFINING FURNACE FOR COLD IRON SOURCES, AND MELTING/REFINING FURNACE OPERATION METHOD Non-Final OA TAIYO NIPPON SANSO CORPORATION
18019183 HOT-ROLLED STEEL PLATE HAVING EXCELLENT IMPACT TOUGHNESS OF WELDED ZONE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME Non-Final OA POSCO Co., Ltd
18286474 METHOD FOR PRODUCING SLAG HAVING A DESIRED QUALITY Non-Final OA ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG
18030553 METHOD FOR PRODUCING PIG IRON IN A SHAFT FURNACE Final Rejection ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG
18019611 NON-GRAIN-ORIENTED FLAT METAL PRODUCT, METHOD FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF AND USE Final Rejection ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG
18272474 TOP-BLOWING LANCE FOR CONVERTER, METHOD FOR ADDING AUXILIARY RAW MATERIAL, AND METHOD FOR REFINING OF MOLTEN IRON Non-Final OA JFE STEEL CORPORATION
18551052 PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING AN ALUMINUM ALLOY PART BY LASER POWDER BED FUSION Non-Final OA COMMISSARIAT À L'ÉNERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ÉNERGIES ALTERNATIVES
18497480 BINDER JET PRINTING OF METALLIC INTERCONNECT FOR SOLID OXIDE ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL STACK Non-Final OA BLOOM ENERGY CORPORATION
18141407 EXTRACTION METHOD FOR REMOVING ALUMINUM FROM TERNARY BATTERY MATERIAL LEACHATE Final Rejection HUNAN BRUNP EV RECYCLING CO., LTD.
18638012 APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR FILTERING METALS Non-Final OA ALCOA CANADA CO.
18134969 5XXX ALUMINUM ALLOYS Non-Final OA ARCONIC TECHNOLOGIES LLC
18415066 PROCESS FOR PRODUCING GRAPHENE, OTHER CARBON ALLOTROPES AND MATERIALS Final Rejection Elemental Recycling, Inc.
18034958 METHOD FOR SELECTIVE EXTRACTION OF GOLD BY NIACIN Final Rejection INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS (IIT MADRAS)
18382722 Method And Apparatus For Melting Metal Using Microwave Technology Non-Final OA New Wave Ceramic Crucibles LLC
17779384 BLAST FURNACE OPERATION METHOD Non-Final OA NIPPON STEEL ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
18272834 RECOVERY OF METAL FROM LEACH PROCESSING Non-Final OA EXTRAKT PROCESS SOLUTIONS, LLC
18284362 METHOD FOR PRODUCING TANTALUM POWDER AND TANTALUM POWDER OBTAINED BY THE METHOD Non-Final OA NINGXIA ORIENT TANTALUM INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
18372685 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING HIGH PURITY SPHERICAL METALLIC POWDERS AT HIGH PRODUCTION RATES FROM ONE OR TWO WIRES Non-Final OA PYROGENESIS CANADA INC.
18372049 NICKEL-BASE ALLOY COMPOSITION FOR COMPONENT PARTS WITH REDUCED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CRACKING AND OPTIMIZED HIGH-TEMPERATURE PROPERTIES Non-Final OA VDM METALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH
18233944 Geothermally Powered Hydrometallurgical Zinc Production Non-Final OA EnhancedGEO Holdings, LLC
18130234 ALUMINUM PRODUCTION POWERED BY GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Non-Final OA EnhancedGEO Holdings, LLC
18547564 METHOD FOR RECOVERING IRON AND VALUABLE METALS FROM ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE DUST Final Rejection KOREA ZINC CO., LTD.

Facing This Examiner?

IP Author analyzes examiner patterns and generates tailored response strategies with the highest chance of allowance.

Build Your Strategy

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month