USPTO Examiner THATCHER CLINT A - Art Unit 2191

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
17129370AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION OF COMPUTER CODEDecember 2020July 2022Allow1910YesNo
17120747OPTIMIZING DEVICE UPDATE SCHEDULINGDecember 2020May 2022Allow1720NoNo
17251216SUPPORT DEVICE AND SUPPORT PROGRAMDecember 2020March 2022Allow1500NoNo
17115962METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BROADCAST SOFTWARE UPDATESDecember 2020October 2021Allow1000NoNo
17111528ONLINE PROGRAM UPDATING METHODDecember 2020November 2022Allow2420NoNo
17108318APPLICATION PROGRAM UPDATING METHOD, APPARATUS, SYSTEM, MEDIUM AND DEVICEDecember 2020June 2022Allow1810NoNo
17054647METHODS, WIRELESS MODULES, ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND SERVER DEVICESNovember 2020December 2023Abandon3720YesNo
17093697VEHICLE ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEM, DATA RELAY DEVICE, CAMPAIGN INFORMATION DELIVERY CONTROL METHOD, AND CAMPAIGN INFORMATION DELIVERY CONTROL PROGRAMNovember 2020October 2022Allow2300NoNo
17081173METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR APPLICATION INTEGRATION AND MACROSYSTEM AWARE INTEGRATIONOctober 2020February 2023Abandon2820NoNo
17077307METHOD FOR PATCHING AND UPDATING ENCRYPTED DISK IMAGES IN A RELIABLE AND SECURE FASHIONOctober 2020August 2021Allow900YesNo
17074356PRIORITIZED NON-ACTIVE MEMORY DEVICE UPDATEOctober 2020May 2022Allow1910YesNo
17069402LEARNING-BASED AUTOMATION MACHINE LEARNING CODE ANNOTATION IN COMPUTATIONAL NOTEBOOKSOctober 2020April 2022Allow1810NoNo
17038044STATIC CODE ANALYSIS TOOL AND CONFIGURATION SELECTION VIA CODEBASE ANALYSISSeptember 2020June 2022Allow2110YesNo
17036440METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A CLIENT TO SERVER DEPLOYMENT VIA AN ONLINE DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMSeptember 2020July 2021Allow1000NoNo
17029567SOFTWARE PATCH APPLICATION AND TESTING OPTIMIZATIONSeptember 2020September 2021Allow1200NoNo
17028468SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VERIFYING HARDWARE COMPLIANCESeptember 2020November 2021Allow1400NoNo
17023873RELAY DEVICE AND EXTERNAL DEVICESeptember 2020March 2022Allow1800NoNo
17017813FIRMWARE UPDATING METHOD AND FIRMWARE UPDATING SYSTEMSeptember 2020February 2022Allow1710NoNo
17009562HARDENING OF RULE DATA OBJECT VERSION FOR SMART DEPLOYMENTSeptember 2020February 2022Allow1710YesNo
17004192METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING RUNTIME PERFORMANCE AFTER APPLICATION UPDATE IN ELECTRONIC DEVICEAugust 2020February 2022Allow1810NoNo
16987305UPGRADING METHOD AND APPARATUSAugust 2020January 2022Allow1710NoNo
16940898EARLY SOFTWARE UPDATES FOR MULTI-TENANT INTEGRATION SERVICEJuly 2020November 2021Allow1510NoNo
16937351DETERMINE ERRORS AND ANOMALIES IN A FLOW PROCESS INTEGRATION INSTANCE THAT INTEGRATES SERVICESJuly 2020July 2021Allow1100NoNo
16936056ENABLING AGILE FUNCTIONALITY UPDATES USING MULTI-COMPONENT APPLICATIONJuly 2020October 2021Allow1510NoNo
16947075SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLICATION PLUG-IN DISTRIBUTIONJuly 2020August 2021Allow1310NoNo
16921685PROGRAMMABLE INTERFACE TO IN-MEMORY CACHE PROCESSORJuly 2020June 2021Allow1200NoNo
16903493INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUMJune 2020November 2021Allow1720NoNo
16903061RELIABLE FEATURE GRADUATIONJune 2020January 2023Allow3140YesNo
16898305SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING AND MANAGING DOMAIN-BASED TECHNOLOGY ARCHITECTUREJune 2020March 2021Allow900NoNo
16895187INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2020September 2021Allow1510NoNo
16888223AUTOMATED TESTING OF BACKUP COMPONENT UPGRADES WITHIN A DATA PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTMay 2020May 2021Allow1200NoNo
16883646GREEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IMPLEMENTATIONMay 2020November 2022Allow3020YesNo
16882121MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION FUNCTIONALITY USING OBJECT-ORIENTED CONFIGURATION DATAMay 2020May 2021Allow1200NoNo
16877165SPOOFING STATEFUL DEPENDENCIES DURING SOFTWARE TESTINGMay 2020August 2021Allow1510NoNo
16761352PROGRAM UPDATING DEVICE, PROGRAM UPDATING SYSTEM AND PROGRAM UPDATING METHODMay 2020July 2021Allow1410YesNo
16858105MANAGING INSTALLATION OF APPLICATIONS ON A COMPUTING DEVICEApril 2020November 2020Allow710NoNo
16855565GENERATION OF MICROSERVICES FROM A MONOLITHIC APPLICATION BASED ON RUNTIME TRACESApril 2020August 2021Allow1610YesNo
16851793DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT DEPLOYMENT FOR MULTIPLE DEVELOPER TYPESApril 2020November 2022Allow3110NoNo
16834437REDUCING FIRMWARE SIZE AND INCREASING FIRMWARE PERFORMANCEMarch 2020April 2021Allow1200NoNo
16818316CONFIGURING FIRMWARE FOR A TARGET DEVICEMarch 2020August 2021Allow1710YesNo
16811996INTELLIGENT DEVICE UPDATINGMarch 2020January 2022Allow2300NoNo
16793777MODEL-BASED DIFFERENCING TO SELECTIVELY GENERATE AND DEPLOY IMAGES IN A TARGET COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTFebruary 2020January 2022Allow2320NoNo
16794084APPLICATION DOWNTIME REDUCTION USING DETACHED MODE OPERATION DURING OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATESFebruary 2020December 2021Allow2200NoNo
16788721FLAW HANDLING SYSTEM, AND HANDLING METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR FLAW HANDLING SYSTEMFebruary 2020February 2021Allow1200NoNo
16788269CONTAINER UPDATE SYSTEMFebruary 2020August 2020Allow600YesNo
16743775WEB SERVICE TEST AND ANALYSIS PLATFORMJanuary 2020July 2021Allow1810YesNo
16733725SOFTWARE DEPENDENCY AND COMPLIANCEJanuary 2020August 2022Abandon3140YesNo
16732808MAINTENANCE OF FAST-CHANGING SOFTWARE APPLICATIONSJanuary 2020March 2021Allow1400NoNo
16732268DISTRIBUTED AUTONOMOUS PATCHING SYSTEMDecember 2019May 2021Allow1610YesNo
16719534AUTOMATED USAGE DRIVEN ENGINEERINGDecember 2019July 2020Allow700YesNo
16715647SOFTWARE TEST AUTOMATION SYSTEM AND METHODDecember 2019May 2021Allow1720NoNo
16714040Installing Patches During UpgradesDecember 2019February 2022Allow2630YesNo
16711326Enhanced Performance Testing Script ConversionDecember 2019September 2021Abandon2120NoNo
16691972SOFTWARE UPDATE COMPATIBILITY ASSESSMENTNovember 2019April 2021Allow1710YesNo
16680800Data Loss Machine Learning Model UpdateNovember 2019June 2022Allow3100NoNo
16678665BASEBOARD MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER FIRMWARE UPDATENovember 2019June 2021Allow1910YesNo
16673690DATA UPDATING SYSTEM, EMBEDDED ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND DATA UPDATING METHODNovember 2019December 2020Allow1300NoNo
16672223HYDRATION OF APPLICATIONSNovember 2019February 2021Allow1610YesNo
16670682METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTRAINDICATING FIRMWARE AND DRIVER UPDATESOctober 2019June 2021Allow2020NoNo
16663884METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PERFORMANCE TESTINGOctober 2019May 2021Abandon1810NoNo
16599154VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMOctober 2019February 2021Allow1710YesNo
16598137METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR IDENTIFYING SOFTWARE PRODUCT INSTALLATION INSTANCESOctober 2019October 2020Allow1200NoNo
16597796MANAGEMENT OF TRANSPORT SOFTWARE UPDATESOctober 2019November 2021Allow2640YesNo
16594799METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DEBUGGING DEVICESOctober 2019December 2021Allow2740NoNo
16590914METHOD FOR ADAPTING FUNCTIONALITIES OF A FIELD DEVICEOctober 2019November 2021Allow2530NoNo
16588554AUTOMATED SELECTION OF SOFTWARE IMAGES FOR NETWORK DEVICESSeptember 2019February 2021Allow1710NoNo
16584852INTERACTIVE WORKFLOW GENERATION FOR MACHINE LEARNING LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENTSeptember 2019October 2022Allow3710YesNo
16580672INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION DOMAIN-SPECIFIC LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING PARADIGMSeptember 2019October 2020Allow1310NoNo
16580804NON-DESTRUCTIVE UPDATE OF DISCRETE COMPONENTS OF FIRMWARESeptember 2019September 2020Allow1110YesNo
16577439SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED PROVISIONING OF A VIRTUAL MAINFRAME TEST ENVIRONMENTSeptember 2019January 2021Allow1610NoNo
16556569PERIPHERAL DEVICE FIRMWARE UPDATE USING REST OVER IPMI INTERFACE FIRMWARE SHELL UTILITYAugust 2019June 2020Allow1000YesNo
16556495PERIPHERAL DEVICE FIRMWARE UPDATE USING REST OVER IPMI INTERFACE FIRMWARE UPDATE MODULEAugust 2019June 2020Allow1000YesNo
16553419SOURCE CODE COMPILER SYSTEMAugust 2019November 2020Allow1510YesNo
16553393METHOD FOR COMPILING CONCISE SOURCE CODEAugust 2019November 2020Allow1510YesNo
16550649LOW-POWER DEVICE RECOVERY USING A BACKUP FIRMWARE IMAGEAugust 2019June 2020Allow1000YesNo
16549518METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A CLIENT TO SERVER DEPLOYMENT VIA AN ONLINE DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMAugust 2019July 2020Allow1100YesNo
16517786INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHODJuly 2019August 2021Abandon2520NoNo
16516005FAULT RESISTANT 24x7 TOPOLOGY FOR BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT ECOSYSTEMJuly 2019September 2020Allow1410YesNo
16515547OPTIMIZING MANAGED RUNTIME APPLICATIONS FOR SERVERLESS ENVIRONMENTSJuly 2019August 2020Allow1300NoNo
16503723SOFTWARE VERSION DETERMINATIONS BASED ON RELEASE NOTES AND SUPPORT FILEJuly 2019December 2021Allow2920YesNo
16449114Test Case Reduction for Code Regression TestingJune 2019November 2020Allow1710NoNo
16443392INTERACTIVE CODE OPTIMIZERJune 2019July 2020Allow1300YesNo
16436599METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RECORDING AND DEBUGGING PROCESS FLOWSJune 2019April 2020Allow1000NoNo
16410778ANALYZING TIME-SERIES DATA IN AN AUTOMATED APPLICATION TESTING SYSTEMMay 2019November 2020Allow1810NoNo
16410274PERMISSIONS FOR A CLOUD ENVIRONMENT APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACEMay 2019May 2021Allow2400NoNo
16398125PROVISIONING A CLIENT DEVICE WITH A MULTI-COMPONENT APPLICATIONApril 2019March 2020Allow1000NoNo
16398103ENABLING AGILE FUNCTIONALITY UPDATES USING MULTI-COMPONENT APPLICATIONApril 2019April 2020Allow1100NoNo
16378353CALLABLE NOTEBOOK FOR CLUSTER EXECUTIONApril 2019February 2020Allow1010YesNo
16376917PREDICTING DOWNTIMES FOR SOFTWARE SYSTEM UPGRADESApril 2019May 2020Allow1300NoNo
16370780SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLICATION PLUG-IN DISTRIBUTIONMarch 2019April 2020Allow1300YesNo
16370819METHOD FOR PATCHING AND UPDATING ENCRYPTED DISK IMAGES IN A RELIABLE AND SECURE FASHIONMarch 2019July 2020Allow1610NoNo
16283931Install File Size Optimization and Installation Verification SystemFebruary 2019August 2020Allow1810NoNo
16282933VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY CHECKING METHODFebruary 2019November 2020Allow2120YesNo
16282153AUTOMATED LAYOUT TESTING FOR MOBILE DEVICE APPLICATIONSFebruary 2019September 2020Abandon1910NoNo
16242544VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, PROGRAM UPDATE METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIUM STORING PROGRAM FOR PROGRAM UPDATEJanuary 2019February 2020Allow1300NoNo
16242936LOGGING STORED INFORMATION FOR IDENTIFYING A FIX FOR AND/OR A CAUSE OF AN ERROR CONDITIONJanuary 2019June 2020Allow1710YesNo
16238824UTILIZATION OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SOURCE CODEJanuary 2019January 2021Allow2530YesNo
16239474DATA BREAKPOINTS ON CERTAIN KINDS OF FUNCTIONSJanuary 2019March 2022Allow3920YesYes
16232998AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION OF COMPUTER CODEDecember 2018August 2020Allow2020YesNo
16230468METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING PROGRAM CODEDecember 2018December 2019Allow1200NoNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner THATCHER, CLINT A.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
12
Examiner Affirmed
6
(50.0%)
Examiner Reversed
6
(50.0%)
Reversal Percentile
72.2%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 50.0% reversal rate, the PTAB reverses the examiner's rejections in a meaningful percentage of cases. This reversal rate is above the USPTO average, indicating that appeals have better success here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
17
Allowed After Appeal Filing
7
(41.2%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
10
(58.8%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
68.4%
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, 41.2% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is above the USPTO average, suggesting that filing an appeal can be an effective strategy for prompting reconsideration.

Strategic Recommendations

Appeals to PTAB show good success rates. If you have a strong case on the merits, consider fully prosecuting the appeal to a Board decision.

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

Examiner THATCHER, CLINT A - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner THATCHER, CLINT A works in Art Unit 2191 and has examined 276 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 83.0%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 19 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner THATCHER, CLINT A's allowance rate of 83.0% places them in the 58% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by THATCHER, CLINT A receive 1.58 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 27% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues fewer office actions than average, which may indicate efficient prosecution or a more lenient examination style.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by THATCHER, CLINT A is 19 months. This places the examiner in the 93% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +7.0% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by THATCHER, CLINT A. This interview benefit is in the 36% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide a below-average benefit with this examiner.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 25.4% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 43% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show below-average effectiveness with this examiner. Carefully evaluate whether an RCE or continuation is the better strategy.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 6.9% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 8% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner rarely enters after-final amendments compared to other examiners. You should generally plan to file an RCE or appeal rather than relying on after-final amendment entry. Per MPEP § 714.12, primary examiners have discretion in entering after-final amendments, and this examiner exercises that discretion conservatively.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 0.0% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 7% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show limited success with this examiner compared to others. While still worth considering, be prepared to proceed with a full appeal brief if the PAC does not result in favorable action.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 45.5% of appeals filed. This is in the 12% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 10.0% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner rarely withdraws rejections during the appeal process compared to other examiners. If you file an appeal, be prepared to fully prosecute it to a PTAB decision. Per MPEP § 1207, the examiner will prepare an Examiner's Answer maintaining the rejections.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 26.7% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 14% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions are rarely granted regarding this examiner's actions compared to other examiners. Ensure you have a strong procedural basis before filing a petition, as the Technology Center Director typically upholds this examiner's decisions.

Examiner Cooperation and Flexibility

Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.4% of allowed cases (in the 56% percentile). This examiner makes examiner's amendments more often than average to place applications in condition for allowance (MPEP § 1302.04).

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 16% 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:

  • Plan for RCE after final rejection: This examiner rarely enters after-final amendments. Budget for an RCE in your prosecution strategy if you receive a final rejection.

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.