Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 27, 2026

Zelalem W Shalu, USPTO Patent Examiner

Listed by the USPTO as SHALU, ZELALEM W

Tech Center 4100 • Art Units: 2122 2145 2148 2177 3628 4100

This examiner grants 32% of resolved cases

Analysis

SHALU, ZELALEM W is assigned to Tech Center 4100 and Art Unit 2122, with 119 resolved cases. The allowance rate is 31.9%, and the median time to allowance is 1316 days. The interview lift is 21.7%, indicating a positive association between interviews and allowance outcomes, but not one that removes the low allowance result shown in this docket. No art unit comparison is supplied.

The leading companies are PayPal Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Robert Bosch GmbH. The principal firms are THE WEBB LAW FIRM, P.C., Alford Law Group, Inc., and AMPACC Law Group, PLLC. Practitioners should plan for extended prosecution and examine claim scope carefully before committing to a response path. Interviews may assist, but the allowance measure supports combining examiner engagement with strong prior-art analysis and focused amendments.

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

Performance Statistics

31.9%
Allow Rate
-28.1% vs TC avg
161
Total Applications
+21.7%
Interview Lift
1316
Avg Prosecution Days
Based on 119 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Rejection Statute Breakdown

13.0%
§101 Eligibility
7.2%
§102 Novelty
66.6%
§103 Obviousness
11.2%
§112 Clarity

Currently Pending Office Actions

App #TitleStatusAssignee
17689115 METHOD OF GENERATING DEEP LEARNING MODEL AND COMPUTING DEVICE PERFORMING THE SAME Non-Final OA Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
17232671 DATASET-FREE, APPROXIMATE MARGINAL PERTURBATION-BASED FEATURE ATTRIBUTIONS Non-Final OA Oracle International Corporation
18548135 DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TRAINING A MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEM FOR DENOISING AN INPUT SIGNAL Non-Final OA Robert Bosch GmbH
17969238 DISTANCE-BASED PAIR LOSS FOR COLLABORATIVE FILTERING Final Rejection THE TORONTO-DOMINION BANK
17922485 LEARNING DEVICE, LEARNING METHOD, AND LEARNING PROGRAM Final Rejection NEC Corporation
17281444 File Transfer Method and Electronic Device Final Rejection Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
18359643 FEATURE MANAGEMENT Final Rejection Lemon Inc.
18468574 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STATIC CACHED DECODING Final Rejection QUALCOMM Incorporated
18558191 ESTIMATION DEVICE, ESTIMATION METHOD, PROGRAM, AND LEARNING MODEL GENERATION DEVICE Non-Final OA BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION
17566888 AUTOMATED GENERATION OF AGENT CONFIGURATIONS FOR REINFORCEMENT LEARNING Final Rejection Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
18827235 Model Accuracy Determination Method and Network Side Device Non-Final OA VIVO MOBILE COMMUNICATION CO., LTD.
18175006 PERSONALIZED FEDERATED LEARNING OF GRADIENT BOOSTED TREES Non-Final OA International Business Machines Corporation
18059277 ADJUSTMENT OF TRAINING DATA SETS FOR FAIRNESS-AWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS Non-Final OA PAYPAL, INC.
17721993 OPTIMIZING TRAINING DATA GENERATION FROM REAL-TIME PREDICTION SYSTEMS FOR INTELLIGENT MODEL TRAINING Final Rejection PAYPAL, INC.
17673377 TIERED INPUT STRUCTURES FOR MACHINE LEARNING MODELS Final Rejection PAYPAL, INC.
17171365 MACHINE-LEARNING SYSTEMS FOR SIMULATING COLLABORATIVE BEHAVIOR BY INTERACTING USERS WITHIN A GROUP Final Rejection Adobe Inc.
18405500 OVERCOMING TECHNICAL CHALLANGES OF WORKING IN A VERY HIGH DIMENSIONAL SPACE Non-Final OA AUTOBRAINS TECHNOLOGIES LTD

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is examiner Zelalem W Shalu's allowance rate?

31.9% of resolved applications examined by Zelalem W Shalu were allowed (119 resolved cases), compared with 31.6% across Art Unit 2122 over the last five years.

Does an interview help with examiner Zelalem W Shalu?

This examiner's interview lift is +21.7 percentage points: the difference in allowance rate between resolved applications that had an examiner interview and those that did not.

How long does examiner Zelalem W Shalu take to allow a patent?

Applications allowed by Zelalem W Shalu took 1,316 days on average from filing to allowance.

Which art unit does examiner Zelalem W Shalu work in?

Zelalem W Shalu examines applications in Art Unit 2122 in Tech Center 4100.

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