USPTO Examiner LITTLE VANCE M - Art Unit 2494

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18964330DERIVED ACCESS PERMISSIONS FOR INPUTS TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AGENTSNovember 2024February 2025Allow200NoNo
18961639SECURE DEVICE COMMUNICATION USING MULTI-KEY ENCAPSULATIONNovember 2024February 2025Allow200NoNo
18945409Canonicalization of Unicode Prompt InjectionsNovember 2024February 2025Allow310YesNo
18922019INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUMOctober 2024June 2025Allow820NoNo
18843232CONTAINER OPERATION CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUSAugust 2024June 2025Allow900NoNo
18807827METHOD, APPARATUS, DEVICE, AND MEDIUM FOR PERMISSION PROCESSINGAugust 2024March 2025Allow710NoNo
18758159ACCESS CONTROL POLICY FOR PROXY SERVICESJune 2024May 2025Allow1100NoNo
18747859SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING DATA INPUT INTO MACHINE LEARNING MODELSJune 2024June 2025Allow1210YesNo
18746458OPEN SOURCE LIBRARY SECURITY RATINGJune 2024May 2025Allow1110NoNo
18638996Dispersed rebuilding of encoded data slices in a storage networkApril 2024June 2025Allow1400NoNo
18600744SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR PROACTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST MALFEASANT DATA COLLECTIONMarch 2024March 2025Allow1310NoNo
18587518CONTEXTUAL KEY MANAGEMENT FOR DATA ENCRYPTIONFebruary 2024June 2025Allow1620YesNo
18438817SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND APPLICATIONS FOR TRANSCODING DATA INTO MEDIA FILESFebruary 2024April 2025Allow1411NoNo
18423666SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SECURITY SUITE CONCATENATING VALIDATION ELEMENTS FOR BLOCKCHAIN BINDING OPERATIONSJanuary 2024January 2025Allow1210NoNo
18401950Monitor and Control Toxic Configuration in Container DeploymentJanuary 2024June 2025Allow1800YesNo
18535370SECURE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSDecember 2023December 2024Allow1210NoNo
18476453END-TO-END TAGGING AND TRACKING OF EVENT SIGNALS SUBJECT TO PRIVACY POLICIESSeptember 2023March 2025Allow1810NoNo
18470407WEARABLE ARTICLE WITH INTEGRATED DISPLAY FOR DISPLAYING CRYPTOGRAPHICALLY SECURED DIGITAL IMAGESSeptember 2023April 2024Allow710YesNo
18461417SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FIREWALL POLICY RULE MANAGEMENTSeptember 2023November 2024Allow1430YesNo
18232692METHOD FOR DATA PROTECTION ACROSS SHARING PLATFORMSAugust 2023March 2025Allow2030YesNo
18353618AUTOMATED DETECTION, REDACTION, AND REPORTING OF SENSITIVE INFORMATIONJuly 2023July 2025Allow2400NoNo
18345436DOCUMENT PERMISSION PROCESSING METHOD AND APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2023January 2025Allow1830NoNo
18216403DASHBOARD CAMERA AND ASSOCIATED CLOUD STORAGE SERVICE HAVING INTEGRATED FILE VALIDATIONJune 2023March 2025Allow2100NoNo
18343020Data Encryption MethodJune 2023March 2025Allow2100NoNo
18212120SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING DATA INPUT INTO MACHINE LEARNING MODELSJune 2023May 2024Allow1020YesNo
18207419Methods and Systems for Efficient Adaptive Logging of Cyber Threat IncidentsJune 2023June 2024Allow1210NoNo
18205911OPEN SOURCE LIBRARY SECURITY RATINGJune 2023April 2024Allow1010NoNo
18327941METHOD FOR DETECTING VULNERABILITIES IN SOFTWAREJune 2023August 2024Allow1400NoNo
18202284MODIFICATION OF DEVICE BEHAVIOR FOR USE IN SECURE NETWORKINGMay 2023August 2024Abandon1510NoNo
18201448THREAT ACTOR IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS AND METHODSMay 2023June 2024Allow1210YesNo
18319949SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SECURITY SUITE CONCATENATING VALIDATION ELEMENTS FOR BLOCKCHAIN BINDING OPERATIONSMay 2023October 2023Allow510NoNo
18196266CONTRIBUTION SIGNATURES FOR TAGGINGMay 2023March 2024Allow1000YesNo
18132756Secure Methods, Systems, And Media For Generating And Verifying User CredentialsApril 2023April 2024Allow1210NoNo
18130638APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SELECTIVELY REVEALING DATAApril 2023May 2024Abandon1310NoNo
18187206STORED IMAGE PRIVACY VIOLATION DETECTION METHOD AND SYSTEMMarch 2023January 2024Allow1020NoNo
18118862METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR HIGHLY SECURE DATA ANALYTIC ENCRYPTION AND DETECTION AND EXTRACTION OF TRUTHFUL CONTENTMarch 2023April 2025Allow2501YesNo
18178090PROTECTION OF PUBLIC-FACING COMPUTING ASSETS OF AN ORGANIZATIONMarch 2023March 2025Allow2400NoNo
18023703SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROTECTING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS AGAINST ADVERSARIAL ATTACKSFebruary 2023January 2025Allow2200NoNo
18108200SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SIDE-CHANNEL MONITORING OF A LOCAL NETWORKFebruary 2023December 2023Allow1010NoNo
18105360Disabling Executable Instructions from a Network MessageFebruary 2023February 2025Allow2510NoNo
18158395EXPLORATION AND ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC DATA ASSETSJanuary 2023March 2025Allow2600NoNo
18157596SHARING AND REQUESTING PRIVATE DATA USING CRYPTOGRAPHYJanuary 2023May 2025Allow2801NoNo
18098102SECURE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSJanuary 2023August 2023Allow620YesNo
18095353DETECTING SUSPICIOUS FILE ACTIVITYJanuary 2023August 2023Allow810NoNo
18093184POWER LINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL IMPULSE RESPONSE MULTILEVEL QUANTIZATION FOR PHYSICAL LAYER SECURITYJanuary 2023October 2024Allow2200NoNo
18145717METHOD FOR ANTI-TAMPERING APPARATUS SERVICING DATA AND SYSTEM THEREOFDecember 2022December 2024Allow2400NoNo
18145788DYNAMIC SECURITY ACTIONS FOR NETWORK TUNNELS AGAINST SPOOFINGDecember 2022September 2023Allow810YesNo
18011620CONSENSUS METHOD FOR A DISTRIBUTED DATABASEDecember 2022April 2023Allow400NoNo
18075121Methods and Systems for Efficient Adaptive Logging of Cyber Threat IncidentsDecember 2022March 2023Allow300NoNo
17925081METHOD FOR ROUTING ACCESS, USER EQUIPMENT, AND STORAGE MEDIUMNovember 2022May 2025Allow3010NoNo
17997511ENCRYPTED VERIFIABLE CREDENTIALSOctober 2022September 2024Allow2300NoNo
18050184DATA DISCOVERY AND GENERATION OF LIVE DATA MAP FOR INFORMATION PRIVACYOctober 2022August 2023Allow900NoNo
17973803PROVISIONING MULTIPLE PLATFORM ROOT OF TRUST ENTITIES OF A HARDWARE DEVICE USING ROLE-BASED IDENTITY CERTIFICATESOctober 2022September 2024Allow2300NoNo
17971961METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DETERMINING THE AUTHENTICITY OF AN IDENTITY DOCUMENTOctober 2022May 2023Allow600NoNo
17972549SECURE FAST CHANNEL CHANGEOctober 2022November 2023Allow1210NoNo
17964811ENCRYPTION KEY BASED ON SYSTEM CLOCK CHARACTERISTICSOctober 2022September 2024Allow2300YesNo
17933685Method for remotely monitoring host based on chip-level privacy-preserving computation (PPC)September 2022March 2023Allow610NoNo
17930286SECURING A CONTAINER ECOSYSTEMSeptember 2022January 2025Allow2810NoNo
17929814SECURING A CONTAINER ECOSYSTEMSeptember 2022September 2024Allow2400NoNo
17892207METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR IP-BASED NETWORK INTRUSION DETECTION AND PREVENTIONAugust 2022November 2024Allow2700YesNo
17891448METHOD FOR DATA PROTECTION ACROSS SHARING PLATFORMSAugust 2022May 2023Allow910NoNo
17891076Single Sign-On From Desktop to NetworkAugust 2022August 2023Allow1100NoNo
17888595Point-To-Point Tokens for Software-Defined Network Anti-Spoof ProtectionAugust 2022September 2024Allow2500NoNo
17888387EXTENDED ENTERPRISE BROWSER BLOCKING SPREAD OF RANSOMWARE FROM ALTERNATE BROWSERS IN A SYSTEM PROVIDING AGENTLESS LATERAL MOVEMENT PROTECTION FROM RANSOMWARE FOR ENDPOINTS DEPLOYED UNDER A DEFAULT GATEWAY WITH POINT TO POINT LINKSAugust 2022February 2023Allow610YesNo
17875813ACCESS CONTROL POLICY FOR PROXY SERVICESJuly 2022March 2024Allow2020NoNo
17872415COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR PREVENTING AND REMOVING UNAUTHORIZED FILE MODIFICATION BY MALICIOUS SOFTWARE AND THE LIKEJuly 2022November 2024Allow2710NoNo
17814173Shared Resource IdentificationJuly 2022August 2023Allow1310NoNo
17813430Secured Search for Ready-Made Search SoftwareJuly 2022October 2024Allow2710NoNo
17813394METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERMITTING ONE OR MORE FEATURES ON A COMPUTER PROGRAMJuly 2022December 2024Allow2910YesNo
17811621Systems and Methods for Dynamic Checksum Generation and Validation with Customizable Levels of Integrity VerificationJuly 2022January 2023Allow610YesNo
17791374METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTHORITY CONTROL, COMPUTER DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMJuly 2022January 2023Allow600NoNo
17808921DEEP LEARNING ACCESS AND AUTHENTICATION IN A COMPUTING ARCHITECTUREJune 2022January 2025Allow3120NoNo
17838478METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR EFFICIENT ADAPTIVE LOGGING OF CYBER THREAT INCIDENTSJune 2022August 2022Allow200NoNo
17804588MALICIOUS SOFTWARE DETECTION AND MITIGATIONMay 2022December 2023Abandon1810NoNo
17824206AUTOMATIC SEGMENTATION USING HIERARCHICAL TIMESERIES ANALYSISMay 2022April 2024Allow2300NoNo
17824533METHOD OF CONTROLLING CLIPBOARD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR PERFORMING THE SAMEMay 2022July 2024Allow2610NoNo
17824427AUTOMATICALLY DETECTING UNKNOWN PACKERSMay 2022August 2024Allow2610YesNo
17752158SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GUIDING PRIVACY-ENHANCING TRANSFORMATIONSMay 2022April 2025Allow3520NoNo
17745703SECURE DEPLOYMENT OF DE-RISKED CONFIDENTIAL DATA WITHIN A DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENTMay 2022January 2025Allow3220NoNo
17738274INFERENCE-BASED DETECTION OF PROXIMITY CHANGESMay 2022October 2024Allow2910YesNo
17737180AUTOMATED VALIDATION AND SECURITY FOR DIGITAL ASSETS IN A COMPUTER ENVIRONMENTMay 2022March 2024Allow2300NoNo
17737363Masking Sensitive Information While Screensharing HTML ElementsMay 2022October 2024Allow2910NoNo
17731396APPROVAL SYSTEMApril 2022November 2024Allow3111NoNo
17732071METHOD OF NON-INTERACTIVE ZERO-KNOWLEDGE CROWD VERIFIABLE DIGITAL CONTACT TRACINGApril 2022March 2024Allow2300NoNo
17721514MONITORING ENCRYPTED NETWORK TRAFFICApril 2022September 2022Allow510NoNo
17717832METHOD, APPARATUS, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUM OF DATA ACQUISITIONApril 2022June 2023Allow1430NoNo
17712168ACCIDENT AND/OR BODILY INJURY MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING APPLICATION FOR LAW FIRMS, MEDICAL PROVIDERS, INSURANCE COMPANIES, PROCESS, SYSTEM, APPARATUS, AND A METHOD OF USING SAMEApril 2022September 2024Abandon2910NoNo
17684962CONTENT MANAGEMENT DEVICE, CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND CONTROL METHODMarch 2022September 2024Allow3050YesNo
17667501APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SELECTIVELY REVEALING DATAFebruary 2022February 2023Allow1220NoNo
17581090Method and System for Updating of an Application Layer for a Third-Party Telematics ProviderJanuary 2022April 2023Allow1500NoNo
17571667MACHINE LEARNING NOTEBOOK CELL OBFUSCATIONJanuary 2022July 2024Allow3010YesNo
17562553ACCESS CONTROL POLICY FOR PROXY SERVICESDecember 2021March 2022Allow200YesNo
17645980SECURING A STORAGE SYSTEMDecember 2021September 2024Allow3310YesNo
17535838METHODS, APPARATUSES, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR FRICTIONLESS ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE MANAGEMENTNovember 2021July 2024Abandon3210NoNo
17534442SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPLICATION FOR TRANSCODING DATA INTO MEDIA FILESNovember 2021October 2023Allow2310YesNo
17525705Systems and Methods for Dynamic Checksum Generation and Validation with Customizable Levels of Integrity VerificationNovember 2021May 2022Allow610YesNo
17511415VERIFYING DATA SOURCES USING ATTESTATION BASED METHODSOctober 2021June 2025Allow4430YesNo
17452084Automatic Resource Access Policy Generation and ImplementationOctober 2021December 2024Allow3820YesYes
16974367Resolving Storage Inconsistencies For A Set Of Encoded Data SlicesOctober 2021December 2023Allow2620YesNo
17503222Ensuring Replacement of a Memory Device KeyOctober 2021December 2024Allow3820NoNo

Appeals Overview

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

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
5
Allowed After Appeal Filing
4
(80.0%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
1
(20.0%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
94.5%
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, 80.0% 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 LITTLE, VANCE M - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner LITTLE, VANCE M works in Art Unit 2494 and has examined 237 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 92.8%, this examiner allows applications at a higher rate than most examiners at the USPTO. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 26 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner LITTLE, VANCE M's allowance rate of 92.8% places them in the 79% 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 LITTLE, VANCE M receive 1.24 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 22% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues significantly fewer office actions than most examiners.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by LITTLE, VANCE M is 26 months. This places the examiner in the 61% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +7.3% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by LITTLE, VANCE M. This interview benefit is in the 37% 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, 37.7% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 83% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs are highly effective with this examiner compared to others. If you receive a final rejection, filing an RCE with substantive amendments or arguments has a strong likelihood of success.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 44.4% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 62% 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.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 150.0% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 89% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: Pre-appeal conferences are highly effective with this examiner compared to others. Before filing a full appeal brief, strongly consider requesting a PAC. The PAC provides an opportunity for the examiner and supervisory personnel to reconsider the rejection before the case proceeds to the PTAB.

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. Of these withdrawals, 100.0% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). 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.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 28.6% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 20% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 15% percentile). This examiner rarely makes examiner's amendments compared to other examiners. You should expect to make all necessary claim amendments yourself through formal amendment practice.

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 20% 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:

  • RCEs are effective: This examiner has a high allowance rate after RCE compared to others. If you receive a final rejection and have substantive amendments or arguments, an RCE is likely to be successful.
  • Request pre-appeal conferences: PACs are highly effective with this examiner. Before filing a full appeal brief, request a PAC to potentially resolve issues without full PTAB review.
  • 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.

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.