USPTO Examiner NEFF MICHAEL R - Art Unit 2631

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18739961System and Method for Selective Treatment of Crops Using Machine VisionJune 2024April 2025Allow1010NoNo
18633376ENTITY IDENTIFICATION USING MACHINE LEARNINGApril 2024May 2025Allow1310NoNo
18615169MODULATION AND EQUALIZATION IN AN ORTHONORMAL TIME-SHIFTING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMMarch 2024April 2025Allow1210NoNo
18615920DETECTING AND TRACKING FEATURES OF PLANTS FOR TREATMENT IN AN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTMarch 2024December 2024Allow800NoNo
18609670APPARATUS AND METHODMarch 2024September 2024Allow600YesNo
18594488ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAMEMarch 2024December 2024Allow1010NoNo
18591305Automated Video SegmentationFebruary 2024February 2025Allow1210YesNo
18586401CAMERA APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REDUCING LATENCY IN PLANT DETECTION FROM TIME OF IMAGE CAPTUREFebruary 2024April 2024Allow200YesNo
18393285IMAGE CODING METHOD AND DEVICE IN IMAGE CODING SYSTEMDecember 2023August 2024Allow810NoNo
18497501GAZE DETECTION USING ONE OR MORE NEURAL NETWORKSOctober 2023October 2024Allow1210YesNo
18384144DETECTING DIGITAL HUMAN FACE IMAGE MANIPULATIONSOctober 2023October 2024Allow1110YesNo
18489475IMAGE ANALYSIS METHOD, APPARATUS, NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM, AND DEEP LEARNING ALGORITHM GENERATION METHODOctober 2023December 2024Allow1410NoNo
18487716PERFORMING IMAGE BASED ACTIONS ON A MOVING VEHICLEOctober 2023December 2024Abandon1410NoNo
18464249TARGET DETECTION METHOD AND DEVICE FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING IMAGESeptember 2023March 2024Allow600YesNo
18227054METHODS FOR DEPLOYING BIOSENTINELS TO AGRICULTURAL FIELDS AND MONITORING BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC STRESSES IN CROPS REMOTELYJuly 2023November 2024Allow1620YesNo
18217912CLASSIFYING PLANT OBJECTS IN AN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTJuly 2023September 2024Allow1410NoNo
18213825FAKECATCHER: DETECTION OF SYNTHETIC PORTRAIT VIDEOS USING BIOLOGICAL SIGNALSJune 2023May 2024Allow1110NoNo
18337818PREDICTIVE MAP GENERATION BASED ON SEEDING CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTROLJune 2023April 2024Allow1010NoNo
18205843ANOMALY DETECTION APPARATUS, ANOMALY DETECTION METHOD, AND PROGRAMJune 2023April 2024Allow1010NoNo
18322862MODULATION AND EQUALIZATION IN AN ORTHONORMAL TIME-SHIFTING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMMay 2023December 2023Allow600YesNo
18141216Automated Video SegmentationApril 2023January 2024Allow810NoNo
18138003CROP YIELD PREDICTION AT FIELD-LEVEL AND PIXEL-LEVELApril 2023October 2023Allow600YesNo
18190290System and Method for Selective Treatment of Crops Using Machine VisionMarch 2023September 2024Abandon1810YesNo
18189042IDENTIFYING OVERFILLED CONTAINERSMarch 2023April 2024Allow1310YesNo
18172141ENTITY IDENTIFICATION USING MACHINE LEARNINGFebruary 2023January 2024Allow1110NoNo
18107844IMAGE CODING METHOD AND DEVICE IN IMAGE CODING SYSTEMFebruary 2023September 2023Allow711NoNo
18105892COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COMPENSATING FREQUENCY RESPONSE DISTORTION OF COMMUNICATIONS DEVICEFebruary 2023June 2025Allow2800NoNo
18161661SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ATTENTION MECHANISM IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECT DETECTIONJanuary 2023June 2025Allow2810YesNo
18161014SYSTEM, METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM FOR DESIGN AND USE REFERENCE EMITTERS TO ENHANCE PASSIVE SINGLE SATELLITE GEOLOCATION OF EMI SOURCESJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2700YesNo
18005022SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR QUANTIFYING AGROECOSYSTEM VARIABLES THROUGH MULTI-TIER SCALING FROM GROUND DATA, TO MOBILE PLATFORMS, AND TO SATELLITE OBSERVATIONSJanuary 2023March 2025Allow2600YesNo
18146327MACHINE LEARNING SCORING SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TOOTH POSITION ASSESSMENTDecember 2022December 2023Allow1110YesNo
18079784TARGETING AGRICULTURAL OBJECTS VIA IMAGE PIXEL TRACKINGDecember 2022March 2025Allow2710NoNo
18054274VIDEO PROCESSING USING DELTA DISTILLATIONNovember 2022May 2025Allow3000NoNo
17923737METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTO PRIORITIZATION OF PLANNED NETWORK SITESNovember 2022June 2025Allow3110NoNo
17974054DIALOG ANALYSIS USING VOICE ENERGY LEVELOctober 2022May 2025Allow3010NoNo
17973370SALIENCY-BASED INPUT RESAMPLING FOR EFFICIENT OBJECT DETECTIONOctober 2022June 2025Allow3220NoNo
17964425GENERATION OF SYNTHETIC HIGH-ELEVATION DIGITAL IMAGES FROM TEMPORAL SEQUENCES OF HIGH-ELEVATION DIGITAL IMAGESOctober 2022February 2023Allow400YesNo
18045155METHODS FOR MANAGING CLEANING ROUTES IN SMART CITIES, INTERNET OF THINGS SYSTEMS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMSOctober 2022February 2025Allow2800NoNo
17947724PIXEL PROJECTILE DELIVERY SYSTEM TO REPLICATE AN IMAGE ON A SURFACE USING PIXEL PROJECTILESSeptember 2022August 2023Abandon1110NoNo
17932566APPLYING MULTIPLE PROCESSING SCHEMES TO TARGET OBJECTSSeptember 2022November 2023Allow1410NoNo
17931854VIDEO TRAINING DATA FOR MACHINE LEARNING DETECTION/RECOGNITION OF PRODUCTSSeptember 2022September 2023Allow1220YesNo
17929057SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR SCORING TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK DATA USING REGRESSION CLASSIFICATION TECHNIQUESSeptember 2022May 2023Allow910YesNo
17898345DETECTING MULTIPLE OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN AN AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTAugust 2022June 2023Allow920YesNo
17890769DETERMINING MEDIA DOCUMENTS EMBEDDED IN OTHER MEDIA DOCUMENTSAugust 2022February 2025Allow3010NoNo
17817918VISION BASED LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING SYSTEM USING DYNAMIC VISION SENSORAugust 2022January 2023Allow610NoNo
17760185Diagnostic information processing method and apparatus based on medical image, and storage mediumAugust 2022April 2025Allow3220NoNo
17872940ANOMALOUS PATH DETECTION WITHIN CAMERAS' FIELDS OF VIEWJuly 2022April 2023Allow910NoNo
17863061DETECTION METHODS TO DETECT OBJECTS SUCH AS BICYCLISTSJuly 2022January 2025Allow3100YesNo
17859924Geofencing Provisioning ServerJuly 2022January 2025Allow3010NoNo
17789054INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUMJune 2022March 2025Allow3310NoNo
17847870METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING POINT-CLOUD DATAJune 2022August 2024Allow2600NoNo
17847069SHARING OF VIRTUALIZED NETWORK RESOURCEJune 2022December 2024Allow2910NoNo
17757690USER EQUIPMENT SIGNALING TO SUPPORT BIAS DETECTIONJune 2022December 2024Allow3010NoNo
17838543MACHINE-LEARNING-ASSISTED SELF-IMPROVING OBJECT-IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM AND METHODJune 2022November 2023Allow1720YesNo
17836292CONFIGURING ACCESS CONTROL PARAMETERS IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONSJune 2022January 2025Allow3210NoNo
17834455DETECTING DIGITAL IMAGE MANIPULATIONSJune 2022July 2023Allow1310YesNo
17827339SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MASKED SELF-TRAINING OF UNSUPERVISED IMAGE CLASSIFICATIONMay 2022March 2025Allow3410NoNo
17751997IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMMay 2022February 2025Allow3310NoNo
17741384MODEL COMBINING AND INTERACTION FOR MEDICAL IMAGINGMay 2022May 2025Allow3620YesNo
17739004SUPER-RESOLUTION RECONSTRUCTION METHOD AND RELATED APPARATUSMay 2022November 2024Allow3010NoNo
17734586AUTOMATED DETECTION OF LUNG SLIDE TO AID IN DIAGNOSIS OF PNEUMOTHORAXMay 2022January 2025Allow3210YesNo
17661268SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMAGE PROCESSINGApril 2022April 2025Allow3520NoNo
17728777Practical Design Techniques for Cellular and WiFi Co-Enabled SystemsApril 2022October 2024Allow3010YesNo
17728344METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMMERSIVE VIDEO ENCODING AND DECODINGApril 2022March 2025Allow3410NoNo
17726155SYSTEM AND METHOD OF SELECTIVELY SHOWING TRACTOGRAPHY IN AREAS CONTAINING FREE WATERApril 2022June 2025Abandon3820NoNo
17718061WEAKLY SUPERVISED MULTI-TASK LEARNING FOR CELL DETECTION AND SEGMENTATIONApril 2022September 2024Allow3010YesNo
17701400EFFICIENT VISION PERCEPTIONMarch 2022January 2025Allow3410NoNo
17655017GENERATION OF MRI IMAGES OF THE LIVERMarch 2022January 2025Allow3410NoNo
17651940TRANSIT ROUTES WITH ORBITAL EDGE COMPUTING RESOURCE AVAILABILITY FOR MOBILE EDGE COMPUTING CONSUMPTION POINTSFebruary 2022July 2025Allow4010YesNo
17676133METHOD AND APPARATUS OF PROCESSING IMAGEFebruary 2022November 2024Allow3310NoNo
17673258MEASUREMENT MAP CONFIGURATION METHOD AND APPARATUSFebruary 2022August 2024Allow3010NoNo
17672884POSE ESTIMATION APPARATUS, LEARNING APPARATUS, POSE ESTIMATION METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUMFebruary 2022August 2024Allow3010NoNo
17671950METHOD FOR PROVIDING AT LEAST ONE METADATA ATTRIBUTE ASSOCIATED WITH A MEDICAL IMAGEFebruary 2022February 2025Allow3610YesNo
17668501METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CELL ISOLATION ASSISTANCE AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUMFebruary 2022July 2024Allow2910YesNo
17275810ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC SPATIAL SCENARIOSFebruary 2022October 2024Allow4330YesNo
17592275METHODS FOR DEPLOYING BIOSENTINELS TO AGRICULTURAL FIELDS AND MONITORING BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC STRESSES IN CROPS REMOTELYFebruary 2022March 2023Allow1300YesNo
17590665METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE AND WHITE BALANCE CORRECTIONFebruary 2022September 2024Allow3110YesNo
17585707MACHINE LEARNING MODELS FOR SELECTING TREATMENTS FOR TREATING AN AGRICULTURAL FIELDJanuary 2022December 2022Allow1000NoNo
17597833Systems and Methods for Analyzing, Detecting, and Treating Fibrotic Connective Tissue Network FormationJanuary 2022October 2024Allow3320NoNo
17581036MEDICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, MEDICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUMJanuary 2022July 2024Allow2910NoNo
17580667INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAMJanuary 2022December 2024Allow3410YesNo
17579435SYSTEM AND METHOD OF SCRIBBLE BASED SEGMENTATION FOR MEDICAL IMAGING USING MACHINE LEARNINGJanuary 2022March 2024Allow2600YesNo
17574458ROADMAP GENERATION SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USINGJanuary 2022April 2024Allow2720YesNo
17569337IMAGE CODING METHOD AND DEVICE IN IMAGE CODING SYSTEMJanuary 2022November 2022Allow1020YesNo
17567458SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR JOINT ABNORMALITY DETECTION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITION ESTIMATIONJanuary 2022April 2024Allow2700NoNo
17565901APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING KEYPOINT BASED ON DEEP LEARNING USING INFORMATION CHANGE ACROSS RECEPTIVE FIELDSDecember 2021January 2024Allow2410NoNo
17564115DENTAL DIAGNOSTICS HUBDecember 2021June 2024Allow3010YesNo
17645240Interrogator and Interrogation System Employing the SameDecember 2021July 2023Abandon1810NoNo
17556529METHOD FOR ANALYZING LESION BASED ON MEDICAL IMAGEDecember 2021January 2025Allow3620NoNo
17553812GRAPH-BASED PROSTATE DIAGNOSIS NETWORK AND METHOD FOR USING THE SAMEDecember 2021February 2024Allow2600YesNo
17544165AUTONOMOUS DETECTION AND TREATMENT OF AGRICULTURAL OBJECTS VIA PRECISION TREATMENT DELIVERY SYSTEMDecember 2021March 2022Allow410NoNo
17454992CONCEALED OBJECT DETECTIONNovember 2021June 2023Allow1920YesNo
17595322GATING OF MEDICAL IMAGING DATANovember 2021April 2024Allow2910NoNo
17611078BLOOD VESSEL SPECIFYING DEVICE AND BLOOD VESSEL SPECIFYING METHODNovember 2021April 2025Allow4120YesNo
17521608Advanced Systems and Methods for Virtual Agronomic SensingNovember 2021May 2024Abandon3010NoNo
17520420METHODS, SYSTEMS AND APPARATUS TO GENERATE MARKET SEGMENTATION DATA WITH ANONYMOUS LOCATION DATANovember 2021May 2023Allow1810NoNo
17506588AUTONOMOUS DETECTION AND CONTROL OF VEGETATIONOctober 2021April 2022Allow610NoNo
17503748MEDICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, MEDICAL INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMOctober 2021August 2024Allow3410NoNo
17498353GAZE DETECTION USING ONE OR MORE NEURAL NETWORKSOctober 2021July 2023Allow2120YesNo
17493359LOCALIZATION FOR MOBILE DEVICESOctober 2021February 2023Allow1610NoNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner NEFF, MICHAEL R.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
5
Examiner Affirmed
4
(80.0%)
Examiner Reversed
1
(20.0%)
Reversal Percentile
31.1%
Lower than average

What This Means

With a 20.0% reversal rate, the PTAB affirms the examiner's rejections in the vast majority of cases. This reversal rate is below the USPTO average, indicating that appeals face more challenges here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
18
Allowed After Appeal Filing
4
(22.2%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
14
(77.8%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
26.4%
Lower 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, 22.2% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is below the USPTO average, suggesting that filing an appeal has limited effectiveness in prompting favorable reconsideration.

Strategic Recommendations

Appeals to PTAB face challenges. Ensure your case has strong merit before committing to full Board review.

Filing a Notice of Appeal shows limited benefit. Consider other strategies like interviews or amendments before appealing.

Examiner NEFF, MICHAEL R - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner NEFF, MICHAEL R works in Art Unit 2631 and has examined 827 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 93.6%, this examiner allows applications at a higher rate than most examiners at the USPTO. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 20 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner NEFF, MICHAEL R's allowance rate of 93.6% places them in the 81% 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 NEFF, MICHAEL R receive 1.45 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 33% 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 NEFF, MICHAEL R is 20 months. This places the examiner in the 88% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +7.1% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by NEFF, MICHAEL R. 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, 33.4% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 67% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show above-average effectiveness with this examiner. Consider whether your amendments or new arguments are strong enough to warrant an RCE versus filing a continuation.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 65.0% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 86% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner is highly receptive to after-final amendments compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 714.12, after-final amendments may be entered "under justifiable circumstances." Consider filing after-final amendments with a clear showing of allowability rather than immediately filing an RCE, as this examiner frequently enters such amendments.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 57.1% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 46% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show below-average success with this examiner. Consider whether your arguments are strong enough to warrant a PAC request.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 72.2% of appeals filed. This is in the 56% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 53.8% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner shows above-average willingness to reconsider rejections during appeals. The mandatory appeal conference (MPEP § 1207.01) provides an opportunity for reconsideration.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 47.4% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 55% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions show above-average success regarding this examiner's actions. Petitionable matters include restriction requirements (MPEP § 1002.02(c)(2)) and various procedural issues.

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 8.3% of allowed cases (in the 86% percentile). Per MPEP § 714.14, a Quayle action indicates that all claims are allowable but formal matters remain. This examiner frequently uses Quayle actions compared to other examiners, which is a positive indicator that once substantive issues are resolved, allowance follows quickly.

Prosecution Strategy Recommendations

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

  • Consider after-final amendments: This examiner frequently enters after-final amendments. If you can clearly overcome rejections with claim amendments, file an after-final amendment before resorting to an RCE.

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.