Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026

Examiner: MERLINO, DAVID P

Tech Center 3600 • Art Units: 3665 3669

This examiner grants 72% of resolved cases

Performance Statistics

71.5%
Allow Rate
+19.5% vs TC avg
470
Total Applications
+12.1%
Interview Lift
1006
Avg Prosecution Days
Based on 439 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Rejection Statute Breakdown

11.7%
§101 Eligibility
20.3%
§102 Novelty
37.1%
§103 Obviousness
27.8%
§112 Clarity

Currently Pending Office Actions

App #TitleStatusAssignee
18687430 MOVEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM, MOVEMENT CONTROL METHOD, MOVEMENT CONTROL DEVICE, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE Final Rejection SONY GROUP CORPORATION
18356101 SYSTEM FOR NAVIGATING DRIVERS TO PASSENGERS BASED ON START TIMES OF EVENTS Final Rejection Lyft, Inc.
18987662 COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY PROPELLED VEHCILE Non-Final OA VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
17983852 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF Non-Final OA Kia Corporation
18971715 VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM Non-Final OA TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
18595728 VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, STORAGE MEDIUM STORING COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE Final Rejection TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
18538980 GENERATING A ROAD-HEIGHT PROFILE Non-Final OA QUALCOMM Incorporated
18850220 MOBILE OBJECT CONTROL DEVICE, MOBILE OBJECT CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM Non-Final OA HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
18581414 VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD Final Rejection HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
18788627 DRONE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DIAGNOSIS AND CORRECTION Non-Final OA Alarm.com Incorporated
18894073 CONTROL SYSTEM AND CONTROL DEVICE Non-Final OA SUBARU CORPORATION
18605352 MANAGING A FLEET OF VEHICLES Non-Final OA Waymo LLC
17349489 IMPLEMENTING SYNTHETIC SCENES FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Non-Final OA Waymo LLC
18828510 BLACK BOX DATA RECORDER FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE Non-Final OA Lodestar Licensing Group LLC
18114035 TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATING SIMULATIONS FOR AUTONOMOUS MACHINES AND APPLICATIONS Non-Final OA NVIDIA Corporation
18798488 Systems and Methods for Autonomous Vehicle Validation Non-Final OA Aurora Operations, Inc.
18894394 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CAPTURING AND OFFLOADING DIFFERENT INFORMATION BASED ON EVENT TRIGGER TYPE Non-Final OA SmartDrive Systems, Inc.
18808067 DETECTING ROAD AND WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR VEHICLE DRIVING Final Rejection PlusAI, Inc.
18202104 On-Vehicle Driving Behavior Modelling Non-Final OA PlusAI, Inc.
18788884 SYSTEMS, PROGRAM PRODUCTS, AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES TRAVELING WITHIN ENVIRONMENTS Non-Final OA Torc Robotics, Inc.
18841681 IMPROVED OVERTAKING MANEUVER FOR OVERTAKING A PRECEDING THIRD PARTY VEHICLE Non-Final OA VALEO SCHALTER UND SENSOREN GMBH
18766759 LONGITUDINAL VELOCITY PLANNING FOR LANE CHANGE MANEUVERS Non-Final OA GM Global Technology Operations LLC
17978056 VEHICLE ON-BOARD UNIT Final Rejection NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
18745848 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EXPANDING THE OPERATIONAL DESIGN DOMAIN OF AN AUTONOMOUS AGENT Non-Final OA Gatik Al Inc.
17979915 TERRAIN-SENSITIVE ROUTE PLANNING Non-Final OA WAVESENSE, INC.

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