USPTO Examiner WILLOUGHBY ALICIA M - Art Unit 2156

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19299748GENERAL INCREMENTAL COMPUTATION METHOD BASED ON INTERMEDIATE STATEAugust 2025January 2026Allow500NoNo
18939343STRUCTURED QUERY STATEMENT SIMILARITY DETECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND DEVICENovember 2024February 2026Allow1530YesNo
18903657METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING LOG REQUEST, DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUMOctober 2024February 2026Allow1620NoNo
18763688SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ENHANCED CLOUD-BASED RULES CONFLICT CHECKING WITH DATA VALIDATIONJuly 2024November 2025Allow1720NoNo
18211219MATCHING AND MERGING USING METADATA CONFIGURATION BASED ON AN N-LAYER MODELJune 2023January 2026Allow3140NoNo
18200831SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR SEARCH ENGINE PARAMETER TUNING USING GENETIC ALGORITHMMay 2023March 2026Allow3450NoNo
18151020APPLICATION DRIVEN DATA CHANGE CONFLICT HANDLING SYSTEMJanuary 2023February 2026Allow3740YesNo
17966714TECHNIQUES FOR COMPREHENSIVELY SUPPORTING JSON SCHEMA IN A RDBMSOctober 2022June 2025Allow3230YesNo
16669574FILTER FILE SYSTEM WITH INODE NUMBER AS PRIMARY DATABASE KEYOctober 2019May 2021Allow1910NoNo
15829843MULTI-STAGE RANKING OPTIMIZATION FOR SELECTING CONTENTDecember 2017January 2021Allow3710YesNo
15684993OPTIMIZING DATA ACCESS FROM A FEDERATED REPOSITORY BASED ON CONCORDANCE FREQUENCYAugust 2017October 2020Allow3830YesNo
15007267Filter File System With Inode Number As Primary Database KeyJanuary 2016August 2019Allow4220YesNo
14177838Methods and systems for content access and distributionFebruary 2014August 2016Allow3020NoNo
14056179GENERATING SYNTHETIC DATAOctober 2013June 2018Allow5630YesNo
14029547DEVICE, METHOD, AND PROGRAM FOR PROCESSING DATA WITH TREE STRUCTURESeptember 2013August 2016Allow3520YesNo
13953663RESOURCE EFFICIENT DOCUMENT SEARCHJuly 2013May 2018Allow5720NoNo
13264672SEAMLESS APPLICATION BACKUP AND RECOVERY USING METADATAOctober 2011December 2017Allow6080YesNo
13192805SEARCH SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH INTEGRATION OF AGGREGATE USER ANNOTATIONSJuly 2011January 2018Allow60110YesNo
13104569SEARCH SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH INTEGRATION OF USER ANNOTATIONSMay 2011June 2016Allow6090YesNo
12577534POSTING LIST INTERSECTION PARALLELISM IN QUERY PROCESSINGOctober 2009May 2014Allow5550YesNo
12575016METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CONTENT ACCESS AND DISTRIBUTIONOctober 2009October 2013Allow4830NoNo
12567472METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USER GUIDED SEARCH NAVIGATIONSeptember 2009January 2014Allow5220NoNo
11971745ADAPTING A CONTEXT-INDEPENDENT RELEVANCE FUNCTION FOR IDENTIFYING RELEVANT SEARCH RESULTSJanuary 2008February 2014Allow6080YesYes
11360680PHOTO IMAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEM AND PROGRAMFebruary 2006April 2009Allow3820YesNo
11082392PARTIAL PRE-AGGREGATION IN RELATIONAL DATABASE QUERIESMarch 2005April 2009Allow4930YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
1
Allowed After Appeal Filing
1
(100.0%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
0
(0.0%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
96.3%
Higher than average

Understanding Appeal Filing Strategy

Filing a Notice of Appeal can sometimes lead to allowance even before the appeal is fully briefed or decided by the PTAB. This occurs when the examiner or their supervisor reconsiders the rejection during the mandatory appeal conference (MPEP § 1207.01) after the appeal is filed.

In this dataset, 100.0% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is in the top 25% across the USPTO, indicating that filing appeals is particularly effective here. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

Strategic Recommendations

Filing a Notice of Appeal is strategically valuable. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

Examiner WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M works in Art Unit 2156 and has examined 17 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 100.0%, this examiner allows applications at a higher rate than most examiners at the USPTO. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 49 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M's allowance rate of 100.0% places them in the 94% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner is more likely to allow applications than most examiners at the USPTO.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M receive 3.94 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 97% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues more office actions than most examiners, which may indicate thorough examination or difficulty in reaching agreement with applicants.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M is 49 months. This places the examiner in the 6% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications take longer to reach final disposition with this examiner compared to most others.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +0.0% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by WILLOUGHBY, ALICIA M. This interview benefit is in the 13% percentile among all examiners. Note: Interviews show limited statistical benefit with this examiner compared to others, though they may still be valuable for clarifying issues.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 20.0% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 21% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show lower effectiveness with this examiner compared to others. Consider whether a continuation application might be more strategic, especially if you need to add new matter or significantly broaden claims.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 41.7% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 64% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner shows above-average receptiveness to after-final amendments. If your amendments clearly overcome the rejections and do not raise new issues, consider filing after-final amendments before resorting to an RCE.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 100.0% of appeals filed. This is in the 89% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: This examiner frequently reconsiders rejections during the appeal process compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 1207.01, all appeals must go through a mandatory appeal conference. Filing a Notice of Appeal may prompt favorable reconsideration even before you file an Appeal Brief.

Examiner Cooperation and Flexibility

Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 5.9% of allowed cases (in the 87% percentile). Per MPEP § 1302.04, examiner's amendments are used to place applications in condition for allowance when only minor changes are needed. This examiner frequently uses this tool compared to other examiners, indicating a cooperative approach to getting applications allowed. Strategic Insight: If you are close to allowance but minor claim amendments are needed, this examiner may be willing to make an examiner's amendment rather than requiring another round of prosecution.

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 12% percentile). This examiner rarely issues Quayle actions compared to other examiners. Allowances typically come directly without a separate action for formal matters.

Prosecution Strategy Recommendations

Based on the statistical analysis of this examiner's prosecution patterns, here are tailored strategic recommendations:

  • Expect multiple rounds of prosecution: This examiner issues more office actions than average. Address potential issues proactively in your initial response and consider requesting an interview early in prosecution.
  • Appeal filing as negotiation tool: This examiner frequently reconsiders rejections during the appeal process. Filing a Notice of Appeal may prompt favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.
  • Plan for extended prosecution: Applications take longer than average with this examiner. Factor this into your continuation strategy and client communications.
  • Examiner cooperation: This examiner frequently makes examiner's amendments to place applications in condition for allowance. If you are close to allowance, the examiner may help finalize the claims.

Relevant MPEP Sections for Prosecution Strategy

  • MPEP § 713.10: Examiner interviews - available before Notice of Allowance or transfer to PTAB
  • MPEP § 714.12: After-final amendments - may be entered "under justifiable circumstances"
  • MPEP § 1002.02(c): Petitionable matters to Technology Center Director
  • MPEP § 1004: Actions requiring primary examiner signature (allowances, final rejections, examiner's answers)
  • MPEP § 1207.01: Appeal conferences - mandatory for all appeals
  • MPEP § 1214.07: Reopening prosecution after appeal

Important Disclaimer

Not Legal Advice: The information provided in this report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with a qualified patent attorney or agent for advice specific to your situation.

No Guarantees: We do not provide any guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the statistics presented above. Patent prosecution statistics are derived from publicly available USPTO data and are subject to data quality limitations, processing errors, and changes in USPTO practices over time.

Limitation of Liability: Under no circumstances will IronCrow AI be liable for any outcome, decision, or action resulting from your reliance on the statistics, analysis, or recommendations presented in this report. Past prosecution patterns do not guarantee future results.

Use at Your Own Risk: While we strive to provide accurate and useful prosecution statistics, you should independently verify any information that is material to your prosecution strategy and use your professional judgment in all patent prosecution matters.