Technology area: Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics
518 pending office actions • 278 clients • 467 examiners • 255 art units • 0 of 518 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready
MERCHANT & GOULD P.C. focuses on Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics and has handled 33,040 career applications. Its profile records 514 pending office actions and an 85.17% resolved allowance rate.
The average is 2.86 office actions per allowance. The large pending docket calls for active portfolio management, while the response average indicates that resolved matters have generally required several examination exchanges before allowance.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 136 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. 136 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 |
|---|---|
| §101 only | 2 (0%) |
| §101 + other | 33 (6%) |
| §103 only | 169 (33%) |
| §102 only | 24 (5%) |
| §112 only | 27 (5%) |
| Double-patenting only | 13 (3%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 24 (5%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 219 (42%) |
| No statute on record | 7 (1%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VALENCIA, ALEJANDRO | 7 | 42.7% | +6.2% |
| CHO, SUNG IL | 4 | 91.4% | +8.5% |
| STONEBRAKER, ALYSSA RAE | 4 | 58.9% | +49.4% |
| AYDIN, SEVAN A | 3 | 80.1% | +4.6% |
| HURLEY, SHAUN R | 3 | 77.6% | +17.7% |
| PAK, SUNG H | 3 | 87.8% | +11.4% |
| VO, ANH T N | 2 | 90.0% | +4.6% |
| RICCI, CRAIG D | 2 | 53.7% | +52.6% |
| ENGLISH, PETER C | 2 | 33.5% | +26.9% |
| PALENIK, JEFFREY T | 2 | 53.5% | +27.0% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 7 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19222028 | IMAGE-FORMING DEVICE INCLUDING CONSUMABLE INCLUDING CONSUMABLE MEMORY HAVING FIRST AREA SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SIGNATURE AND SECOND AREA NOT SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SIGNATURE | AYDIN, SEVAN A | — |
| 19065527 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS | AYDIN, SEVAN A | — |
| 19011055 | MEMORY DEVICE WITH A BIAS CIRCUIT | CHO, SUNG IL | — |
| 18930356 | TANK HAVING OUTLET POSITIONED IN PROTRUDING CHAMBER BELOW LIQUID STORAGE CHAMBER, AND LIQUID-CONSUMING DEVICE INCLUDING THE SAME | VO, ANH T N | — |
| 18819842 | EQUIPMENT PANEL WITH TERMINATION REGION | PAK, SUNG H | — |
| 18794850 | STRAIN RELIEF BOOT | PAK, SUNG H | — |
| 17120702 | SRAM MEMORY HAVING SUBARRAYS WITH COMMON IO BLOCK | CHO, SUNG IL | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16745074 | TRANSCATHETER METHODS FOR HEART VALVE REPAIR | ORKIN, ALEXANDER J | 545d overdue |
| 18744141 | VALVE WITH REPLACEABLE HARD INSERTS | DO, HAILEY KYUNG AE | 146d overdue |
| 18496647 | Joystick Chair | PANDYA, SUNIT | 121d overdue |
| 18570380 | METHOD FOR CALIBRATING A MICROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT OF A TELEOPERATED ROBOTIC SURGERY SYSTEM AND RELATED SYSTEM | LUAN, SCOTT | 114d overdue |
| 18009452 | COMPOSITION FOR PREVENTION, IMPROVEMENT OR TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC DISEASE OR ITCHING COMPRISING PENTAPEPTIDE AS ACTIVE INGREDIENT | KOMATSU, LI N | 97d overdue |
| 16973414 | METHOD FOR DETECTING A TANDEM REPEAT | JOHANNSEN, DIANA B | 87d overdue |
| 17761506 | EDIBLE SHEET CONTAINING SEAWEED AND PREPARATION METHOD THEREFOR | TAYLOR, AUSTIN PARKER | 85d overdue |
| 17339116 | Hollow fibers for outside-in-dialysis applications | MENON, KRISHNAN S | 77d overdue |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18680056 | METHOD OF MAKING A SURGICAL BRAID | HURLEY, SHAUN R | 70d overdue |
| 18040959 | OPTIMIZED SURGERY PROTOCOL AND KITS | RICCI, CRAIG D | 31d overdue |
| 19349368 | HIGH SURFACE-AREA LYOPHILIZED COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING ARSENIC FOR ORAL ADMINISTRATION IN PATIENTS | PALENIK, JEFFREY T | 5d |
| 18408664 | High Surface-Area Lyophilized Compositions Comprising Arsenic For Oral Administration In Patients | PALENIK, JEFFREY T | 48d |
| 19396404 | JOINT CAVITY DRUG ADMINISTRATION METHOD, AND USE THEREOF | RICCI, CRAIG D | — |
| 19358698 | FIBER OPTIC CONNECTION SYSTEM | ENGLISH, PETER C | — |
| 19190924 | BALL WITH FILTER | ENGLISH, PETER C | — |
| 18941131 | System for Reconfigurable Donning of a Hand Orthotic Device | HURLEY, SHAUN R | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 2874 | 17 |
| 2852 | 16 |
| 2853 | 15 |
| 3763 | 13 |
| 3771 | 8 |
| 2824 | 8 |
| 3746 | 6 |
| 1792 | 6 |
| 3774 | 6 |
| 1642 | 6 |
| App # | Title | Client | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19426683 | IMAGE RECORDING APPARATUS, EXTERNAL TERMINAL AND SERVER | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | VIG, NARESH | 3622 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Dec 19, 2025 |
| 19419391 | INK CONTAINER, INK CONTAINER SET AND PRINTING SYSTEM | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | VO, ANH T N | 2853 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Dec 15, 2025 |
| 19488028 | SELECTION METHOD AND DEVICE FOR EDDY CURRENT BRAKING LEVEL, CONTROLLER AND READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM | Crrc Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. | LIETHEN, KURT PHILIP | 3747 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2025 |
| 19396404 | JOINT CAVITY DRUG ADMINISTRATION METHOD, AND USE THEREOF | Tennor Therapeutics (Suzhou) Limited | RICCI, CRAIG D | 1611 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 21, 2025 |
| 19395098 | TILT-ADAPTING LIGHTING SYSTEM | Federal Signal Corporation | CATTANACH, COLIN J | 2875 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 20, 2025 |
| 19381937 | FAN STRUCTURE | Cooler Master Co., Ltd. | CORDAY, CAMERON A | 3745 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 06, 2025 |
| 19481148 | TAIL ASSEMBLY FOR A GUIDED AND FIN-STABILIZED PROJECTILE | Leonardo S.p.A. | BADAWI, MEDHAT | 3642 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 03, 2025 |
| 19370159 | CONNECTORS FOR LIGHT FIXTURES AND METHOD OF INSTALLING THE SAME | Nulite Lighting, Inc. | CARTER, WILLIAM JOSEPH | 2875 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 27, 2025 |
| 19478303 | MEDICAL BOOT | Osborn Medical Corporation | CARREIRO, CAITLIN ANN | 3786 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 24, 2025 |
| 19476152 | MAGAZINE FOR AN ARTILLERY INSTALLATION, PROVIDED WITH A MOVING SYSTEM | Leonardo S.p.A. | WEBER, JONATHAN C | 3641 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 16, 2025 |
| 19358698 | FIBER OPTIC CONNECTION SYSTEM | Commscope Connectivity Belguim Bvba | ENGLISH, PETER C | 2883 | §112DPOther | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 15, 2025 |
| 19474674 | SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR OPTICS APPLICABLE TO A RIFLE AND RELATED ASSEMBLY | Contessa S.r.l. | CAUDLE, LOGAN WILLIAM | 3641 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Oct 10, 2025 |
| 19349368 | HIGH SURFACE-AREA LYOPHILIZED COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING ARSENIC FOR ORAL ADMINISTRATION IN PATIENTS | Quetzal Therapeutics, LLC | PALENIK, JEFFREY T | 1615 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | 5d | Pending | Oct 03, 2025 |
| 19167566 | Device and System for Non-Invasively Determining a Concentration of an Analyte | University Of Leeds | JACOB, OOMMEN | 3797 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 22, 2025 |
| 19323182 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING CONTROLLER CAPABLE OF DETERMINING WHETHER DEVELOPING CARTRIDGE, DRUM CARTRIDGE AND BELT UNIT ARE REACHED THEIR LIFETIMES | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | BEATTY, ROBERT B | 2852 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 09, 2025 |
| 19313142 | HIGH EFFICIENCY WIRELESS POWER TRANSFER COILS | Resonant Link, Inc. | KAPLAN, HAL IRA | 2836 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 28, 2025 |
| 19159727 | FISHING LINE GUIDE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING FISHING GEAR ITEM | Globeride, Inc. | ALMEIDA BONNIN, ANGELICA ALEJANDRA | 3643 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 26, 2025 |
| 19157208 | AN APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATING A PLURALITY OF VEHICLES | Ola Electric Mobility Limited | RAMIREZ, ELLIS B | 3658 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2025 |
| 19293179 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING DEVICE MAIN BODY AND CONSUMABLE ATTACHABLE THERETO AND INCLUDING CONSUMABLE MEMORY FOR STORING RECYCLING HISTORY INFORMATION | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | TRAN, HOAN H | 2852 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2025 |
| 19273995 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL AIRFOIL AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION | Greenheck Fan Corporation | CHRISTENSEN, DANIELLE M | 3745 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 18, 2025 |
| 19271695 | NETWORK SYSTEM, DEVICE, AND PROCESSING METHOD | Connectfree Corporation | MCNALLY, MICHAEL S | 2432 | §102Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 16, 2025 |
| 19269288 | RESPONSE SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE | Federal Signal Corporation | LI, HELEN | 3665 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 15, 2025 |
| 19254164 | IMPEDANCE MATCHING CIRCUIT AND METHOD | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | CHEN, PATRICK C | 2836 | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19238086 | MEDICAL DEVICE INSPECTION SCOPE | Clarus Medical, LLC | CAREY, MICHAEL JAMES | 3795 | §102§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2025 |
| 19229156 | IMAGE-FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING OPERATING MEMBER DISPOSED ON MOVABLE COVER FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SHUTTER OF TONER CONTAINER | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | GRAINGER, QUANA M | 2852 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 05, 2025 |
| 19226424 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE AMENITIES | Throne Labs, Inc. | GIRMA, FEKADESELASS | 2689 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 03, 2025 |
| 19222593 | REMOTE CARE MANAGEMENT | Hill-Rom Services, Inc. | GARTLAND, SCOTT D | 3685 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 29, 2025 |
| 19222028 | IMAGE-FORMING DEVICE INCLUDING CONSUMABLE INCLUDING CONSUMABLE MEMORY HAVING FIRST AREA SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SIGNATURE AND SECOND AREA NOT SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SIGNATURE | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | AYDIN, SEVAN A | 2852 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 29, 2025 |
| 19220854 | IMAGE FORMING DEVICE | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | BRASE, SANDRA L | 2852 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 28, 2025 |
| 19219575 | USING PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSIS FOR DETERMINING CREDIT RISK | Zip Co. US Inc. | FELTEN, DANIEL S | 3692 | §101§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 27, 2025 |
| 19215816 | SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR PROVIDING IMMUTABLE DIGITAL TESTIMONY | Alibi LLC | NARRAMORE, BLAKE I | 2438 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 22, 2025 |
| 19214885 | METHOD FOR REMOVING AND ATTACHING FIRST HOLDER MEMBER RELATIVE TO SECOND HOLDER MEMBER SUPPORTED BY HOUSING IN CARTRIDGE | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | CHEN, SOPHIA S | 2852 | §102DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 21, 2025 |
| 19207511 | TANK INCLUDING FRAME DEFINING FIRST OPENING, AND COVER COVERING AT LEAST PART OF FIRST OPENING | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | ELOSHWAY, NIKI MARINA | 3736 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 14, 2025 |
| 19128924 | MAGNETIC ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY, MAGNETIC ROBOTIC SYSTEM, METHOD FOR LOCATING A MEDICAL DEVICE | Atlas Endoscopy Limited | CELESTINE, NYROBI I | 3798 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 09, 2025 |
| 19199186 | UI FOR HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY SYSTEM | Beyeonics Surgical Ltd. | RAYAN, MIHIR K | 2621 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 05, 2025 |
| 19194652 | DIAPHRAGM PUMP AND VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR A DIAPHRAGM PUMP | Wanner Engineering, Inc. | ZOLLINGER, NATHAN C | 3746 | §103 | Final Rejection | 12d | Pending | Apr 30, 2025 |
| 19190924 | BALL WITH FILTER | Double G Games LLC | ENGLISH, PETER C | 3993 | §112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 28, 2025 |
| 19188345 | CARTRIDGE | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | BEATTY, ROBERT B | 2852 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 24, 2025 |
| 19186278 | CONNECTING ASSEMBLY FOR CONNECTING HOSE SEGMENTS TOGETHER, AND MAPLE TREE SAP HARVESTING SYSTEM PROVIDED WITH THE SAME | Les Equipements Lapierre Inc. | RUFRANO, ALEXANDER TYLER | 3679 | §103DP | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 22, 2025 |
| 19180798 | ELECTRODE APPARATUS FOR BLOCKING OR CONTROLLING NERVES IN BODY | Deepqure Inc. | LEE, ERICA SHENGKAI | 3796 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 16, 2025 |
| 19174589 | CONDENSER APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REMOVING WATER FROM AIR | Aresco Technologies, LLC | MARTIN, ELIZABETH J | 3763 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 09, 2025 |
| 19171664 | FERTILIZER COMPOSITION CONTAINING A CARBON-BASED ADDITIVE AND METHODS OF MAKING SAME | The Mosaic Company | PEEBLES, KATHERINE | 1617 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 38d overdue | Pending | Apr 07, 2025 |
| 19170997 | SYSTEM FOR THERMOREGULATING METAL ROTATING CYLINDERS IN PLASTIC FILM CONVERTING AND EXTRUDING SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF INDUCTION HEATERS | Colines S.p.A. | LUK, EMMANUEL S | 1744 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 04, 2025 |
| 19169608 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | CURRAN, GREGORY H | 2852 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 03, 2025 |
| 19096873 | OPTICAL POWER DETECTOR AND READER | Commscope Technologies LLC | NGUYEN, SANG H | 2877 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 01, 2025 |
| 19093542 | CONNECTION FOR A FLUID WITH A RING | Hutchinson S.r.l. | DRAGICEVICH, ZACHARY T | 3679 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 28, 2025 |
| 19094277 | IMPACT RESISTANT LOUVER | Greenheck Fan Corporation | KENNY, DANIEL J | 3633 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 28, 2025 |
| 19089787 | IMAGE-FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING FAN CONFIGURED TO DISCHARGE AIR THROUGH LOUVER ON HOUSING AND FILTER POSITIONED BETWEEN FAN AND LOUVER IN AIR DISCHARGING DIRECTION | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | ROTH, LAURA K | 2852 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19115211 | CALIBRATION METHOD FOR NONLINEAR ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION CIRCUIT, AND REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT THEREOF | Galaxycore Shanghai Limited Corporation | NGUYEN, LINH V | 2845 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19088269 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS WITHOUT DEDICATED POWER SUPPLY FOR COMPARATOR REFERENCE VOLTAGE | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | ROTH, LAURA K | 2852 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 24, 2025 |
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Start Free Trial85.2% of resolved applications prosecuted by Merchant & Gould P.C. were allowed, across 33,040 applications in USPTO records.
2.86 office actions per allowed application on average.
518 pending office actions as of October 2026, for 278 clients, before 467 examiners in 255 art units.