Prosecution Insights
Prosecution Insights
Technology area: Chemistry & Materials
12 pending office actions • 2 clients • 9 examiners • 5 art units • 0 of 12 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 15 patents granted in the last 365 days
MacMillan, Sobanski and Todd, LLC - FIRST SOLAR operates in the Chemistry & Materials technology area, managing 361 career applications. The firm has achieved a high resolved allowance rate of 94.81 percent. This 94.81 percent allowance rate indicates a very strong track record of securing patent grants for its chemical and materials science clients.
The firm's prosecution process involves an average of 4.66 office actions per allowance. This figure of 4.66 office actions suggests a detailed and persistent negotiation style, often requiring multiple interactions with examiners to reach an allowance. Currently, the firm is handling 13 pending office actions. These 13 pending office actions are part of the firm's active management of its 361 career applications. The data shows that while the firm is highly successful with a 94.81 percent allowance rate, it frequently engages in extensive communication with the patent office.
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.
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.
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.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §103 only | 2 (17%) |
| Double-patenting only | 1 (8%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (8%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 8 (67%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
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.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOWLA, GOLAM | 3 | 62.0% | +28.1% |
| DINH, BACH T | 2 | 55.4% | +31.3% |
| BUCK, LINDSEY A | 1 | 49.4% | +34.3% |
| WHITE, SADIE | 1 | 48.8% | +31.6% |
| TRIVISONNO, ANGELO | 1 | 53.0% | +25.8% |
| PILLAY, DEVINA | 1 | 44.2% | +25.9% |
| LAW, NGA LEUNG V | 1 | 56.7% | +20.7% |
| TRINH, THANH TRUC | 1 | 22.1% | +10.8% |
| MALLEY JR., DANIEL PATRICK | 1 | 56.5% | +45.7% |
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 # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18708334 | Materials and Methods for Tandem Photovoltaic Devices | PILLAY, DEVINA | 78d overdue |
| 18399028 | Photovoltaic Devices and Methods for Producing Devices Using Perovskite Materials | TRINH, THANH TRUC | 41d |
| 19023233 | Photovoltaic Devices and Method of Making | MOWLA, GOLAM | 56d |
| 19239412 | Photovoltaic Devices with Textured TCO Layers, and Methods of Making TCO Stacks | MOWLA, GOLAM | — |
| 18956909 | THIN FILM SOLAR MODULE AND PRODUCTION METHOD | DINH, BACH T | — |
| 18828147 | PHOTOVOLTAIC TOP MODULE | DINH, BACH T | — |
| 18841928 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF MAKING | TRIVISONNO, ANGELO | — |
| 18628285 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VAPORIZATION AND VAPOR DISTRIBUTION | LAW, NGA LEUNG V | — |
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 # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18708334 | Materials and Methods for Tandem Photovoltaic Devices | PILLAY, DEVINA | 78d overdue |
| 18914841 | Buffer Layers for Photovoltaic Devices with Group V Doping | BUCK, LINDSEY A | 38d overdue |
| 18399028 | Photovoltaic Devices and Methods for Producing Devices Using Perovskite Materials | TRINH, THANH TRUC | 41d |
| 18277153 | Materials and Methods for Hole Transport Layers in Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices | MALLEY JR., DANIEL PATRICK | 42d |
| 19023233 | Photovoltaic Devices and Method of Making | MOWLA, GOLAM | 56d |
| 19006785 | Photovoltaic Devices Including An Interfacial Layer | MOWLA, GOLAM | 70d |
| 19239412 | Photovoltaic Devices with Textured TCO Layers, and Methods of Making TCO Stacks | MOWLA, GOLAM | — |
| 18956909 | THIN FILM SOLAR MODULE AND PRODUCTION METHOD | DINH, BACH T | — |
| Client (Assignee) | Pending OAs |
|---|---|
| First Solar | 11 |
| ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC | 1 |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 1726 | 5 |
| 1721 | 4 |
| 1728 | 1 |
| 1722 | 1 |
| 1717 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Client | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19239412 | Photovoltaic Devices with Textured TCO Layers, and Methods of Making TCO Stacks | First Solar, Inc. | MOWLA, GOLAM | 1721 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 16, 2025 |
| 19023233 | Photovoltaic Devices and Method of Making | First Solar, Inc. | MOWLA, GOLAM | 1721 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 56d | Pending | Jan 15, 2025 |
| 19006785 | Photovoltaic Devices Including An Interfacial Layer | First Solar, Inc. | MOWLA, GOLAM | 1721 | §112DPOther | Non-Final OA | 70d | Pending | Dec 31, 2024 |
| 18956909 | THIN FILM SOLAR MODULE AND PRODUCTION METHOD | First Solar, Inc. | DINH, BACH T | 1726 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 22, 2024 |
| 18914841 | Buffer Layers for Photovoltaic Devices with Group V Doping | First Solar, Inc. | BUCK, LINDSEY A | 1728 | DP | Final Rejection | 38d overdue | Pending | Oct 14, 2024 |
| 18828147 | PHOTOVOLTAIC TOP MODULE | First Solar, Inc. | DINH, BACH T | 1726 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 09, 2024 |
| 18825810 | LAYER STRUCTURES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES INCLUDING THE SAME | First Solar, Inc. | WHITE, SADIE | 1721 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 05, 2024 |
| 18841928 | PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES AND METHODS OF MAKING | First Solar, Inc. | TRIVISONNO, ANGELO | 1722 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2024 |
| 18708334 | Materials and Methods for Tandem Photovoltaic Devices | First Solar, Inc. | PILLAY, DEVINA | 1726 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 78d overdue | Pending | May 08, 2024 |
| 18628285 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VAPORIZATION AND VAPOR DISTRIBUTION | First Solar, Inc. | LAW, NGA LEUNG V | 1717 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 05, 2024 |
| 18399028 | Photovoltaic Devices and Methods for Producing Devices Using Perovskite Materials | First Solar, Inc. | TRINH, THANH TRUC | 1726 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 41d | Pending | Dec 28, 2023 |
| 18277153 | Materials and Methods for Hole Transport Layers in Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices | Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC | MALLEY JR., DANIEL PATRICK | 1726 | §103 | Final Rejection | 42d | Pending | Aug 14, 2023 |
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