Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

Dorton & Willis LLP

Technology area: Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems

22 pending office actions • 9 clients • 21 examiners • 14 art units • 0 of 22 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready

Analysis

Dorton & Willis LLP has 23 pending office actions in Transportation, E-Commerce & Mechanical Systems. The profile includes 578 career applications, giving the current workload a defined historical context.

The resolved allowance rate is 88.18%, and the average is 3.44 office actions per allowance. Resolved applications frequently reached allowance, while the average indicates that multiple examination exchanges commonly preceded that result. Practitioners should use the pending count for immediate docket planning and the historical figures for context when addressing transportation and mechanical-system claims.

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

Quality Metrics (n=578 apps, methodology: how we score firms)

88.2%
Allowance Rate
n=578
+0.51σ
Allowance Rate (norm)
n=578
3.4
OAs to Allowance
n=403
-0.08σ
OAs to Allow (norm)
n=403
1048 days
Time to Allowance
n=403
+10.1pp
Interview Lift
n=578
22.8%
RCE Rate
n=578
6.5%
Appeal Rate
n=578

Rejection Performance (% of received rejections ultimately overcome)

69.9%
§101 Overcome
n=83
74.9%
§102 Overcome
n=231
77.9%
§103 Overcome
n=317
81.6%
§112 Overcome
n=261

Specialization & Scale

B25J, G05B, A61B
Top CPC Subclasses
34%
Top-3 CPC Share
n=578
2
Practitioners
n=578
289.0
Apps / Practitioner
n=578

Portfolio Summary

22
Total Pending OAs
19
Non-Final OAs
3
Final Rejections
0
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 6 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

5
Overdue
0
Due this week
1
Due this month
0
Due in next 60 days
0
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 6 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (5)Due ≤ 30 days (1)

Case Difficulty Mix

Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.

15
Hard (68%)
6
Medium (27%)
1
Easy (5%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other5 (23%)
§103 only4 (18%)
§102 only1 (5%)
§112 only1 (5%)
Double-patenting + other1 (5%)
Multi-statute (no §101)10 (45%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

0
Life Sciences
0% of docket
2
Information Tech
9% of docket
1
Communications
5% of docket
1
Semiconductors
5% of docket
18
Mechanical / Eng
82% of docket
0
Business / Other
0% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.

220 h
Manual time on pending OAs
44 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
77 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
1.9 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
EVANS, KARSTON G 2 69.8% +16.8%
BATES, DAVID W 1 76.4% +16.7%
PATEL, JAIMIN GHANSHYAM 1 84.2% +27.3%
RAMIREZ, ELLIS B 1 81.5% +14.9%
RANDAZZO, THOMAS 1 86.8% +12.3%
BURRELL, KATELYNNE RUTH 1 56.5% -0.4%
KIM, SANG K 1 81.5% +10.3%
O'MALLEY, JOHN MARTIN 1 56.3% +62.5%
MOYER, DALE S 1 81.6% +16.3%
TRAN, KHOI H 1 54.8% +17.8%

Quick Wins (2)

Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18938751 Goods Storage System and Method RANDAZZO, THOMAS —
18860899 Gripper for Handling SMD Component Reel Cassettes, and Associated SMD Component Reel Cassette KIM, SANG K —

Hard Cases (15)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18557717 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT A ROBOT APPLICATION EVANS, KARSTON G 225d overdue
18316276 METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION COFINO, JONATHAN M 105d overdue
18846903 Planning a Path of a Robot TRAN, KHOI H 16d overdue
18556755 GENERATING A ROBOT PROGRAM AND OPERATING A ROBOT MANCHO, RONNIE M 9d overdue
18558440 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A TELEROBOTIC ROBOT WATTS III, JAMES MILLER 27d
19261125 Robot Path Planning EVANS, KARSTON G —
19170618 METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PERFORMING A KNEE ARTHROPLASTY BATES, DAVID W —
18988006 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED AS-SEMBLY OF COMPONENTS PATEL, JAIMIN GHANSHYAM —

Interview Candidates (10)

Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18557717 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT A ROBOT APPLICATION EVANS, KARSTON G 225d overdue
18846903 Planning a Path of a Robot TRAN, KHOI H 16d overdue
19261125 Robot Path Planning EVANS, KARSTON G —
19170618 METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PERFORMING A KNEE ARTHROPLASTY BATES, DAVID W —
18988006 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED AS-SEMBLY OF COMPONENTS PATEL, JAIMIN GHANSHYAM —
18875425 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A ROBOT RAMIREZ, ELLIS B —
18938751 Goods Storage System and Method RANDAZZO, THOMAS —
18860899 Gripper for Handling SMD Component Reel Cassettes, and Associated SMD Component Reel Cassette KIM, SANG K —

Client Portfolio (9 clients)

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
36576
36582
36542
36562
37991
36521
36551
36611
21171
36741

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleClientExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19261125 Robot Path Planning Kuka Deutschland GmbH EVANS, KARSTON G 3657 §101§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jul 07, 2025
19170618 METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PERFORMING A KNEE ARTHROPLASTY Knimble Designs, Inc. BATES, DAVID W 3799 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 04, 2025
18988006 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED AS-SEMBLY OF COMPONENTS Kuka Systems North America LLC PATEL, JAIMIN GHANSHYAM 3652 §102§103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 19, 2024
18875425 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A ROBOT Kuka Deutschland GmbH RAMIREZ, ELLIS B 3658 §101§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 16, 2024
18938751 Goods Storage System and Method Swisslog AG RANDAZZO, THOMAS 3655 §112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 06, 2024
18860891 Method for Automatic Reloading of SMD Component Reels on SMD Assembly Machines Kuka Deutschland GmbH BURRELL, KATELYNNE RUTH 3654 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 28, 2024
18860899 Gripper for Handling SMD Component Reel Cassettes, and Associated SMD Component Reel Cassette Kuka Deutschland GmbH KIM, SANG K 3654 §112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Oct 28, 2024
18848968 Robot Add-On Part, Control Device, Robot, and Associated Method Kuka Deutschland GmbH O'MALLEY, JOHN MARTIN 3658 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Sep 20, 2024
18847023 Checking a Predefined Path of a Robot Kuka Systems GmbH MOYER, DALE S 3656 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 13, 2024
18846903 Planning a Path of a Robot Kuka Systems GmbH TRAN, KHOI H 3656 §102§103§112 Non-Final OA 16d overdue Pending Sep 13, 2024
18847039 Ascertaining at Least One Border for Operating a Robot Kuka Systems GmbH CARDIMINO, CHRISTOPHER RYAN 3661 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 13, 2024
18846878 Checking a Safety Configuration of a Robot Kuka Systems GmbH HANNAN, B M M 3657 §101§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 13, 2024
18719655 METHOD FOR ASSIGNNG AN EMERGENCY-STOP FUNCTIONALITY, AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM Kuka Deutschland GmbH CARTER, CHRISTOPHER W 2117 §101§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 13, 2024
18710460 METHOD, LASER-OPTICAL DETECTION SYSEM AND ROBOTIC WORKSTATION Kuka Deutschland GmbH SINGH, ESVINDER 3657 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 13, 2024
18688686 NUT RETAINING DEVICE AND RELATED METHODS Jpb Système BATES, ZAKIYA W 3674 §102 Non-Final OA — Pending Mar 01, 2024
18683017 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYSING OPERATION OF A ROBOT Kuka Deutschland GmbH RAMIREZ BRAVO, BEATRIZ A 2146 §101§103 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 12, 2024
18557717 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT A ROBOT APPLICATION Kuka Aktiengesellschaft EVANS, KARSTON G 3657 §103§112 Final Rejection 225d overdue Pending Nov 09, 2023
18556755 GENERATING A ROBOT PROGRAM AND OPERATING A ROBOT Kuka Deutschland GmbH MANCHO, RONNIE M 3657 §103§112 Non-Final OA 9d overdue Pending Nov 02, 2023
18558440 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A TELEROBOTIC ROBOT Kuka Deutschland GmbH WATTS III, JAMES MILLER 3657 §102§103 Non-Final OA 27d Pending Nov 01, 2023
18316276 METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION Jointvue LLC COFINO, JONATHAN M 2614 §102§103 Non-Final OA 105d overdue Pending May 12, 2023
18308197 Drive System Renk GmbH CHAN, KAWING 2846 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Apr 27, 2023
17468092 FILTER Rig Deluge Global Limited LIEUWEN, CODY J 3752 §103 Non-Final OA 4d overdue Pending Sep 07, 2021

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Dorton & Willis LLP's patent allowance rate?

88.2% of resolved applications prosecuted by Dorton & Willis LLP were allowed, across 578 applications in USPTO records.

How many office actions does Dorton & Willis LLP average before allowance?

3.44 office actions per allowed application on average.

How many pending office actions does Dorton & Willis LLP have?

22 pending office actions as of October 2026, for 9 clients, before 21 examiners in 14 art units.

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