Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026

Examiner: MERLINO, DAVID P

Tech Center 3600 • Art Units: 3665 3669

This examiner grants 71% of resolved cases

Performance Statistics

71.2%
Allow Rate
+19.2% vs TC avg
471
Total Applications
+12.1%
Interview Lift
965
Avg Prosecution Days
Based on 448 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Rejection Statute Breakdown

4.1%
§101 Eligibility
19.5%
§102 Novelty
63.0%
§103 Obviousness
12.7%
§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
18987662 COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY PROPELLED VEHCILE Non-Final OA VOLVO TRUCK CORPORATION
18605352 MANAGING A FLEET OF VEHICLES Non-Final OA Waymo LLC
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
17983852 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF Non-Final OA Kia Corporation
18581414 VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD Final Rejection HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
18798488 Systems and Methods for Autonomous Vehicle Validation Non-Final OA Aurora Operations, Inc.
18114035 TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATING SIMULATIONS FOR AUTONOMOUS MACHINES AND APPLICATIONS Non-Final OA NVIDIA Corporation
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.
18828510 BLACK BOX DATA RECORDER FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE Non-Final OA Lodestar Licensing Group LLC
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.
17979915 TERRAIN-SENSITIVE ROUTE PLANNING Non-Final OA WAVESENSE, INC.
17500905 ADVANCED DRIVER-ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS FEATURE ACTIVATION CONTROL USING DIGITAL MAP AND ON-BOARD SENSING TO CONFIRM SAFE VEHICLE OPERATION Non-Final OA Arriver Software LLC

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