Technology area: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
431 pending office actions • 144 clients • 401 examiners • 231 art units • 0 of 431 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has 423 pending office actions in Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals and 14771 career applications. The figures show a large active examination workload alongside a substantial application history in this technology area.
The resolved allowance rate is 87.12%, and allowed matters averaged 3.19 office actions per allowance. The rate supplies a resolved-outcome measure, while the action average indicates the examination activity associated with matters that reached allowance. For practitioners, the pending-action figure highlights current docket demands, while the historical measures provide context for evaluating results and prosecution interaction.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 99 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. 99 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 | 12 (3%) |
| §101 + other | 54 (13%) |
| §103 only | 133 (31%) |
| §102 only | 28 (6%) |
| §112 only | 21 (5%) |
| Double-patenting only | 11 (3%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 21 (5%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 149 (35%) |
| No statute on record | 2 (0%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| POHNERT, STEVEN C | 4 | 12.5% | +18.2% |
| MAHLUM, JONATHAN DAVIS | 4 | 50.0% | +23.3% |
| FEREJA, SAMUEL D | 3 | 75.0% | +10.1% |
| DING, CHUNLING | 3 | 56.1% | +61.5% |
| STEPHENS, AMELIA CAROLE | 3 | 75.0% | +50.0% |
| RICH, JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH | 3 | 83.3% | +10.0% |
| MOREHEAD III, JOHN H | 2 | 85.7% | +12.1% |
| WALKER, JARED T | 2 | 84.7% | +9.8% |
| GINGRICH, SHADAN HAGHANI | 2 | 61.7% | +17.4% |
| KHATIB, RAMI | 2 | 77.0% | +13.7% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18606291 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OPENING OF VEHICLE DOOR, AND VEHICLE CONTROLLER | RICH, JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH | 13d |
| 19259475 | VIDEO DECODING METHOD, VIDEO ENCODING METHOD, DECODER, ENCODER AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM | WALKER, JARED T | — |
| 19255456 | REDUCING THROUGHPUT OF PAIRED CAMERAS | MOREHEAD III, JOHN H | — |
| 18499126 | DRIVABLE SURFACE AND LANE GROUP ESTIMATION | RICH, JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH | — |
| 18499134 | DRIVABLE SURFACE AND LANE GROUP ESTIMATION | RICH, JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18078504 | PRUNING HARDWARE UNIT FOR TRAINING NEURAL NETWORK | COULSON, JESSE CHEN | 169d overdue |
| 18960051 | GENERATING A POOL OF RISK WITH OPTION PRICING | VANDERHORST, MARIA VICTORIA | 131d overdue |
| 18423039 | ADAPTIVE DRIVER INTERFACE USING DRIVER COGNITIVE FACTORS | MUSTAFA, IMRAN K | 127d overdue |
| 18374194 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM | MEINECKE DIAZ, SUSANNA M | 100d overdue |
| 17919347 | IMPROVED METHOD FOR DETERMINING BLOOD GLUCOSE RESPONSES | SASS, KIMBERLY A. | 72d overdue |
| 18607221 | VEHICLE SYSTEMS FOR RESPONDING TO SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY AROUND THE VEHICLE | REINERT, JONATHAN E | 67d overdue |
| 17852918 | CLOSED-SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOLOGOUS AND ALLOGENEIC CELL THERAPY MANUFACTURING | SKELDING, ZACHARY S | 60d overdue |
| 18694933 | METHOD, SYSTEM, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN | GIERINGER, MELINDA J | 56d 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19029789 | TOOL FOR CREATING AND MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA-BASED CONTESTS WITH PRESENTATION-BALANCING COMPONENT AND STRENGTH-SCORING COMPONENT | DING, CHUNLING | 49d overdue |
| 18340406 | TOOL FOR CREATING AND MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA-BASED CONTESTS WITH PRESENTATION-BALANCING COMPONENT AND STRENGTH-SCORING COMPONENT | DING, CHUNLING | 16d overdue |
| 18982245 | LOCAL ILLUMINATION COMPENSATION METHOD AND APPARATUS | FEREJA, SAMUEL D | 10d overdue |
| 19039708 | SYSTEMS FOR REIMBURSING AND RECONCILING PHARMACY-RELATED TRANSACTIONS | DING, CHUNLING | 9d overdue |
| 18397180 | VACCINATION AGAINST FUNGAL EPITOPES TO PREVENT INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES | STEPHENS, AMELIA CAROLE | 2d overdue |
| 18010913 | ERG ONCOGENE INHIBITORS | MAHLUM, JONATHAN DAVIS | 6d |
| 18606291 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OPENING OF VEHICLE DOOR, AND VEHICLE CONTROLLER | RICH, JOSEPHINE ELIZABETH | 13d |
| 19286087 | RECALIBRATING STEREOSCOPIC CAMERAS DURING VEHICLE OPERATION | MOREHEAD III, JOHN H | — |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3666 | 7 |
| 1625 | 7 |
| 2411 | 6 |
| 1681 | 6 |
| 2859 | 6 |
| 1682 | 6 |
| 2834 | 5 |
| 3668 | 5 |
| 2467 | 5 |
| 1683 | 5 |
| App # | Title | Client | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19390332 | VERIFICATION OF THE ORIGIN OF ABNORMAL DRIVING | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | RORIE, ALYSSA N | 3662 | §112DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2025 |
| 19386203 | METALLIZED BREATHABLE COMPOSITE FABRIC | Yilab Temperature Control Technologies (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. | SINGH-PANDEY, ARTI R | 1759 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 11, 2025 |
| 19320465 | INFORMATION DISPLAY METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION INTERACTION METHOD, AND COMPUTING DEVICE | Hangzhou Alibaba International Internet Industry Co., Ltd. | YEN, SYLING | 2166 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 05, 2025 |
| 19311125 | POINT CLOUD ENCODING METHOD, POINT CLOUD DECODING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | VO, TUNG T | 2425 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 27, 2025 |
| 19301734 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACTIVE ROAD SURFACE MAINTENANCE WITH CLOUD-BASED MOBILITY DIGITAL TWIN | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | LEE, TYLER J | 3663 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 15, 2025 |
| 19297642 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UPDATING THE PARAMETERS OF A MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROLLER WITH LEARNED EXTERNAL PARAMETERS GENERATED USING SIMULATIONS AND MACHINE LEARNING | Toyota Research Institute, Inc. | WALLACE, ZACHARY JOSEPH | 3656 | §101§102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 12, 2025 |
| 19298139 | USING A CONVERSATION INTERFACE TO TRANSFER DIGITAL ASSETS | Celligence International LLC | SAX, TIMOTHY PAUL | 3698 | §103Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Aug 12, 2025 |
| 19297903 | ADAPTIVE DYNAMIC DRIVER TRAINING SYSTEMS AND METHODS | Toyota Research Institute, Inc. | SARWAR, BABAR | 3667 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 12, 2025 |
| 19293607 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PROVIDING AND RECORDING PERSONALIZED CONTEXT-SPECIFIC ADVICE IN THE FORM OF AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VIEW OF A HIERARCHICAL PORTFOLIO | Wealthchat LLC | COBB, MATTHEW | 3661 | §101 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Aug 07, 2025 |
| 19152662 | MOUSE AND MAGNETIC ROLLER MODULE THEREOF | Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. | HARRIS, DOROTHY H | 2625 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 31, 2025 |
| 19286087 | RECALIBRATING STEREOSCOPIC CAMERAS DURING VEHICLE OPERATION | Applied Intuition, Inc. | MOREHEAD III, JOHN H | Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 30, 2025 | |
| 19273581 | ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, BITSTREAM, ENCODER, DECODER, AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | WALKER, JARED T | 2426 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 18, 2025 |
| 19268132 | ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, CODE STREAM, ENCODER, DECODER, AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | PHILIPPE, GIMS S | 2424 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 14, 2025 |
| 19259475 | VIDEO DECODING METHOD, VIDEO ENCODING METHOD, DECODER, ENCODER AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | WALKER, JARED T | 2426 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2025 |
| 19259120 | WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND DEVICE | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | CHOUDHURY, RAQIUL A | 2444 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2025 |
| 19259875 | ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, BITSTREAM, ENCODER, DECODER AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | GINGRICH, SHADAN HAGHANI | 2485 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 03, 2025 |
| 19258422 | POINT CLOUD ENCODING AND DECODING METHODS, APPARATUSES, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | FEREJA, SAMUEL D | 2487 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19256643 | ENCODING METHOD, DECODING METHOD, BITSTREAM, ENCODER, DECODER, AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | WALSH, KATHLEEN M. | 2482 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 01, 2025 |
| 19254516 | NEURAL NETWORK-BASED IN-LOOP FILTER | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | GINGRICH, SHADAN HAGHANI | 2485 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19254186 | INTRA PREDICTION METHOD AND APPARATUS, VIDEO ENCODING METHOD AND APPARATUS, VIDEO DECODING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | LIMA, FABIO S | 2486 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19255456 | REDUCING THROUGHPUT OF PAIRED CAMERAS | Applied Intuition, Inc. | MOREHEAD III, JOHN H | 2482 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 30, 2025 |
| 19251958 | MOUSE STRUCTURE | Voyetra Turtle Beach, Inc. | BOYD, JONATHAN A | 2627 | §102 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jun 27, 2025 |
| 19248338 | VEHICLE-BASED STOP-AND-GO MITIGATION SYSTEM | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | TRAN, DALENA | 3661 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 24, 2025 |
| 19245870 | IMAGE PROJECTION DEVICE | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | CHAE, KYU | 2426 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 23, 2025 |
| 19237828 | APPEARANCE DECORATION PART, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING APPEARANCE DECORATION PART, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE | BYD Company Limited | GRUSBY, REBECCA LYNN | 1785 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2025 |
| 19237543 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING SMART CONTAINERS | Alibaba Group Holding Limited | CHEN, GEORGE YUNG CHIEH | 3628 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 13, 2025 |
| 19234108 | SUPPORTING ROD COMPONENT, VEHICLE DOOR ASSEMBLY, AND VEHICLE | BYD Company Limited | STRIMBU, GREGORY J | 3634 | §102§103§112 | Final Rejection | 43d | Pending | Jun 10, 2025 |
| 19230232 | VEHICLE ACCELERATION CONTROL METHOD, VEHICLE, AND COMPUTER STORAGE MEDIUM | BYD Company Limited | HUYNH, LUAT T | 3661 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2025 |
| 19230284 | DEPTH ESTIMATION WITH SPARSE RANGE SENSOR DEPTH AND UNCERTAINTY PROJECTION | Toyota Research Institute, Inc. | NAWAZ, TALHA M | 2422 | DPOther | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 06, 2025 |
| 19215113 | HYBRID VEHICLE, ENGINE STARTING CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, MEDIUM, AND CONTROLLER | BYD Company Limited | KC, SAGAR | 3657 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 21, 2025 |
| 19208196 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SWIPE-BASED CHAT INTERACTION AND CONTEXTUAL MESSAGE EDITING | Celligence International LLC | SURVILLO, OLEG | 2457 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 14, 2025 |
| 19204878 | Methods and Systems for Calibrating a Process for Locating Devices | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | EDRADA, ISABELLA AMEYALI | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | May 12, 2025 | |
| 19193087 | DRIVING MODE CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM, CONTROLLER, AND VEHICLE | BYD Company Limited | KHATIB, RAMI | 3669 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 29, 2025 |
| 19192160 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING PHYSICAL ASSETS ACROSS TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES | Biosphere Aerospace, LLC | ABOUZAHRA, REHAM K | 3625 | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 28, 2025 |
| 19188983 | SERVICE TRANSFER METHOD, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | PATEL, DHAIRYA A | §101§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 24, 2025 | |
| 19123642 | METHOD FOR RAY TRACING, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND CHIP | Innopeak Technology, Inc. | COBB, MICHAEL J | 2615 | §101§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 23, 2025 |
| 19183556 | STOP-AND-GO MITIGATION SYSTEM WITH MULTI-LANE SENSING | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE | 3661 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 18, 2025 |
| 19175499 | VEHICLE COLLABORATION TO DETER SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | ALIZADA, OMEED | 2686 | §103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 10, 2025 |
| 19173973 | CODING METHOD, BITSTREAM, ENCODER, DECODER, AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | ITSKOVICH, MIKHAIL | 2483 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 09, 2025 |
| 19172466 | METHOD FOR PREVENTING OR REDUCING LOW SPEED PRE-IGNITION IN DIRECT INJECTED SPARK-IGNITED ENGINES WITH MOLYBDENUM-CONTAINING LUBRICANT COMPOSITIONS | Chevron Japan Ltd. | MCAVOY, ELLEN M | 1771 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 22d | Pending | Apr 07, 2025 |
| 19092930 | CHIP FREQUENCY MODULATION METHOD AND APPARATUS OF COMPUTING DEVICE, HASH BOARD, COMPUTING DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM | Canaan Creative Co., Ltd. | PRIFTI, AUREL | 2175 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 27, 2025 |
| 19089630 | THERMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE AND VEHICLE | BYD Company Limited | COMINGS, DANIEL C | 3763 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19089331 | IMITATION CERAMIC STRUCTURE, PREPARATION METHOD THEREFOR, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE HOUSING | BYD Company Limited | TAVARES-CROCKETT, ULA CORINNA | 1729 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 25, 2025 |
| 19084478 | RESISTIVE RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY WITH HYBRID BONDING INTEGRATION | Hefei Reliance Memory Limited | COON, BRADLEY SCOTT | 2827 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 19, 2025 |
| 19083301 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGEMENT OF NETWORK PROTOCOLS WHILE SUPPORTING MULTI-TENANCY | Hedgehog Sonic Foundation | MACILWINEN, JOHN MOORE JAIN | 2454 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Mar 18, 2025 |
| 19081173 | KEY VERIFICATION METHODS, KEY ACQUISITION METHOD, AND DEVICES | Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd. | AHMED, MAHABUB S | 2434 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 17, 2025 |
| 19075483 | WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION SYSTEM OF IMMERSED LIQUID COOLING HEAT DISSIPATION DEVICE | Canaan Creative Co., Ltd. | WEILAND, HANS R. | 3763 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 10, 2025 |
| 19069952 | CONVERSATIONAL INTERACTION METHOD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE BASED ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) VIRTUAL CHARACTERS | Zhejiang Tmall Technology Co., Ltd. | CHRISTENSEN, SCOTT B | 2444 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 04, 2025 |
| 19067353 | METHOD FOR INTELLIGENT ADVERTISEMENT DELIVERY AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE | Hangzhou Alibaba International Internet Industry Co., Ltd. | PATEL, DIPEN M | 3621 | §101 | Final Rejection | 4d overdue | Pending | Feb 28, 2025 |
| 19065215 | APPLIED ESSENTIA DUNNING | One True Holding Company | WERONSKI, MATTHEW S | 3627 | §101§103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 27, 2025 |
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Start Free Trial87.1% of resolved applications prosecuted by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton, LLP were allowed, across 14,771 applications in USPTO records.
3.19 office actions per allowed application on average.
431 pending office actions as of October 2026, for 144 clients, before 401 examiners in 231 art units.
