Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.
| Application Number | Title | Filing Date | Disposal Date | Disposition | Time (months) | Office Actions | Restrictions | Interview | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18769702 | TOMOSYNTHESIS-GUIDED BIOPSY IN PRONE | July 2024 | February 2025 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18751223 | STEREOTACTIC MBI-GUIDED BIOPSY USING A VARIABLE-ANGLE SLANT-HOLE COLLIMATOR | June 2024 | April 2025 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 18679283 | Inductive Damping Brain Sensor | May 2024 | June 2025 | Allow | 13 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18634540 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING THE VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF A VISCOELASTIC MEDIUM | April 2024 | May 2025 | Allow | 13 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18631362 | MINIMALLY INVASIVE ACCESS CHANNELS INTO BODILY REGIONS | April 2024 | November 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18590739 | SCANNING ASSEMBLY AND ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE | February 2024 | April 2025 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18440923 | ULTRASONOGRAPHY APPARATUS, MAMMOGRAPHY APPARATUS, AND CONTROL PROGRAM | February 2024 | April 2025 | Allow | 14 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18421061 | ULTRASOUND PROBE HAVING THREE CONFIGURABLE BUTTONS | January 2024 | April 2025 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18417682 | BREAST BIOPSY AND NEEDLE LOCALIZATION USING TOMOSYNTHESIS SYSTEMS | January 2024 | August 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18407513 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSTANT AND AUTOMATIC BORDER DETECTION | January 2024 | October 2024 | Allow | 9 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18398233 | GANTRY ROTATION | December 2023 | November 2024 | Allow | 10 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18544680 | CATHETER WITH INTEGRATED CONTROLLER FOR IMAGING AND PRESSURE SENSING | December 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18536102 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRACKING COMPLETENESS OF CO-REGISTERED MEDICAL IMAGE DATA | December 2023 | April 2025 | Abandon | 16 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 18516752 | ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME | November 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 11 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18389161 | PORTABLE ULTRASOUND APPARATUS, PORTABLE ULTRASOUND SYSTEM AND DIAGNOSING METHOD USING ULTRASOUND | November 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 11 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18496351 | NIR IMAGE-GUIDED TARGETING | October 2023 | September 2024 | Allow | 11 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18491527 | SYSTEMS, METHODS AND SOFTWARE FOR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGE GUIDED RADIOTHERAPY | October 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 20 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 18485563 | UPDATING PROTON STOPPING POWER MAPS FOR PROTON RADIATION THERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING | October 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18371395 | INTRAVASCULAR DEVICE MOVEMENT SPEED GUIDANCE AND ASSOCIATED DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS | September 2023 | May 2024 | Allow | 8 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18471637 | ULTRASOUND PROBE AND ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS | September 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18368370 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC MEDICAL DEVICE PLACEMENT IN AN ANATOMICAL STRUCTURE USING A LOCKING MECHANISM | September 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18460256 | WRIST-WORN ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH OPTICAL CARDIAC MONITOR | September 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18457289 | MAMMOGRAPHY APPARATUS | August 2023 | December 2024 | Allow | 16 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18457310 | MAMMOGRAPHY APPARATUS | August 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 17 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18233501 | ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS AND CONTROLLING METHOD | August 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18446327 | Methods of Using an Inductive Damping Brain Sensor | August 2023 | February 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18357205 | Endobronchial Catheter System and Method for Rapid Diagnosis of Lung Disease | July 2023 | May 2024 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18258082 | DETERMINING THE CONDITION OF VESSELS IN THE BODY | June 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18266667 | VIBRATION ACTUATOR FOR SHEAR WAVE ELASTOGRAPHY, SYSTEM AND METHOD | June 2023 | December 2024 | Allow | 18 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18330808 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING THE VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF A VISCOELASTIC MEDIUM | June 2023 | February 2024 | Allow | 9 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18325982 | ULTRASONIC WAKE-UP SYSTEM | May 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18200161 | Systems and Methods for Monitoring Ablation Progress Using Linear EBUS Data | May 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18196917 | PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITORING DEVICES HAVING SENSING ELEMENTS DECOUPLED FROM BODY MOTION | May 2023 | May 2024 | Allow | 12 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18134505 | CONTROL OF ANATOMICAL IMAGE ACQUISITION USING PHYSIOLOGICAL INFORMATION | April 2023 | October 2023 | Allow | 6 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18125029 | Ultrasound Imaging System with a Sterilizing System | March 2023 | December 2024 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18175651 | Diagnostic System and Methods for Simultaneously Detecting Light at Multiple Detection Locations in a Spectroscopic System | February 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 23 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 18102207 | TOMOSYNTHESIS-GUIDED BIOPSY IN PRONE | January 2023 | April 2024 | Allow | 15 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18006378 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SUPPLYING POWER TO AN ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER | January 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18086756 | COUNTERBALANCING OF DETECTORS FOR NUCLEAR MEDICINE TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEMS | December 2022 | June 2024 | Abandon | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18081925 | Breast Biopsy Immobilization Device for Magnetic Resonance Imaging | December 2022 | March 2025 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18061339 | MINIMALLY INVASIVE ACCESS CHANNELS INTO BODILY REGIONS | December 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 13 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18070952 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DIRECTING THERAPEUTIC NANOPARTICLE-LABELED CELLS TO SELECTED LOCATIONS WITHIN THE BODY AND/OR FOR RETAINING THERAPEUTIC NANOPARTICLE-LABELED CELLS AT SELECTED LOCATIONS WITHIN THE BODY | November 2022 | September 2024 | Abandon | 22 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 18057603 | IMAGING MEMBER, CONTROL DEVICE, MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEM, IMAGING METHOD, CONTROL METHOD, AND CONTROL PROGRAM | November 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 11 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18051733 | DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND APPARATUS | November 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17891027 | UNIVERSAL ULTRASOUND DEVICE AND RELATED APPARATUS AND METHODS | August 2022 | August 2024 | Allow | 24 | 2 | 1 | No | No |
| 17881759 | FLEXIBLE INSTRUMENT LOCALIZATION FROM BOTH REMOTE AND ELONGATION SENSORS | August 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 18 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17881251 | INTEGRATED LASER DOPPLER BLOOD FLOW MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND METHODS OF USE | August 2022 | May 2025 | Allow | 34 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17628785 | METHOD FOR OBTAINING ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF A SOFT SOLID, WHICH USES ACOUSTIC VORTICES | July 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 29 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17752755 | DEVICE FOR NON-INVASIVE DETECTION OF SKIN PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH DIABETES MELLITUS | May 2022 | February 2025 | Allow | 33 | 2 | 0 | No | Yes |
| 17661768 | SUPER RESOLUTION MAGNETIC RESONANCE (MR) IMAGES IN MR GUIDED RADIOTHERAPY | May 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17733082 | IMAGING PROBE WITH ROTATABLE CORE | April 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17731465 | FLUID-FILLED CATHETER AND RESERVOIR | April 2022 | October 2024 | Abandon | 30 | 1 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17730611 | Device for the Discrimination of Biological Tissues | April 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 20 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17727961 | CATHETER WITH INTEGRATED CONTROLLER FOR IMAGING AND PRESSURE SENSING | April 2022 | April 2024 | Abandon | 24 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17771415 | TRACKING SURGICAL PIN | April 2022 | March 2024 | Allow | 23 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17765257 | Creation of a flexible ultrasound system for real time acquisition of large fields of view | March 2022 | February 2025 | Abandon | 35 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 17699913 | LOW CAPACITANCE ENDOSCOPE SYSTEM | March 2022 | August 2024 | Allow | 29 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17689123 | DEVICES AND METHODS FOR PHOTOACOUSTIC TOMOGRAPHY | March 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 23 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17753238 | PSEUDO-CT IMAGE GENERATION | February 2022 | February 2025 | Allow | 36 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17668693 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSTANT AND AUTOMATIC BORDER DETECTION | February 2022 | August 2023 | Allow | 18 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17591951 | SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR PROVIDING AN AUGMENTED DISPLAY | February 2022 | January 2025 | Allow | 35 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17584999 | ULTRASOUND SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD OF ULTRASOUND SYSTEM | January 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17585219 | Fiber Optic Shape Sensing System Associated With Port Placement | January 2022 | June 2025 | Allow | 41 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17629937 | ABERRATION CORRECTIONS FOR DYNAMICALLY CHANGING MEDIA DURING ULTRASOUND THERAPY | January 2022 | May 2025 | Allow | 39 | 0 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17583258 | SYSTEM FOR RECEIVING SIGNALS FROM A MAGNETO-MECHANICAL OSCILLATOR | January 2022 | May 2025 | Allow | 39 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17628168 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PERFORMANCE OF DEPTH SENSOR AND AUXILIARY SENSOR-BASED OPERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH A COMPUTER-ASSISTED SURGICAL SYSTEM | January 2022 | November 2024 | Allow | 34 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17615063 | METHOD FOR IMAGE GUIDANCE, MEDICAL DEVICE AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM | November 2021 | October 2024 | Allow | 34 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17532467 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ESTABLISHING PARAMETERS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING | November 2021 | September 2024 | Allow | 34 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17601194 | PULSED FOCUSED ULTRASOUND THERAPY FOR TREATMENT OF PANCREATIC DISORDERS | October 2021 | August 2024 | Allow | 35 | 1 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17600564 | COMBINED RADIATION ACOUSTICS AND ULTRASOUND FOR RADIOTHERAPY GUIDANCE AND CANCER TARGETING | September 2021 | May 2024 | Allow | 32 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17484684 | ACOUSTIC MATCHING SHEET, COMPOSITION FOR ACOUSTIC MATCHING LAYER, ACOUSTIC WAVE PROBE, ACOUSTIC WAVE MEASUREMENT APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ACOUSTIC WAVE PROBE | September 2021 | November 2023 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17447684 | METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR MOTION-STABILIZED CLINICAL TOOL TRACKING AND VISUALIZATION | September 2021 | February 2025 | Allow | 41 | 1 | 1 | No | No |
| 17471818 | CATHETER AND ASSOCIATED METHODS | September 2021 | December 2023 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17446181 | REAL-TIME COMPOSITION ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR ULTRASONIC ABLATION | August 2021 | March 2025 | Allow | 43 | 1 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17411751 | FIRST-ORDER ESTIMATION METHOD OF SHEAR WAVE VELOCITY | August 2021 | October 2023 | Allow | 26 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17430225 | BLOOD FLOW MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND BLOOD FLOW MEASUREMENT METHOD | August 2021 | July 2024 | Allow | 36 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17421037 | CONTACT SENSOR POSITIONING SYSTEM, CANNULA INSERTION SYSTEM AND METHOD TO POSITION A CONTACT SENSOR | July 2021 | June 2025 | Allow | 48 | 4 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17363206 | INTRAVASCULAR IMAGING CATHETERS AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF | June 2021 | November 2023 | Allow | 29 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17346468 | BRAIN MEASUREMENT APPARATUS AND BRAIN MEASUREMENT METHOD | June 2021 | October 2023 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17346338 | BRAIN MEASUREMENT APPARATUS AND BRAIN MEASUREMENT METHOD | June 2021 | December 2023 | Allow | 30 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17329345 | LOCAL COIL FOR A MAGNETIC RESONANCE SYSTEM, AND METHOD AND TOOL FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SAME | May 2021 | January 2024 | Allow | 32 | 0 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17296567 | HARMONIC SHEAR WAVE IMAGING | May 2021 | January 2024 | Allow | 31 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17326445 | IN VIVO MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE LOCALIZED MEASUREMENT OF RADIOTRACER CONCENTRATION IN THE BODY | May 2021 | December 2023 | Allow | 30 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17293491 | EDDY CURRENT BRAKE FOR PATIENT TABLE OF MRI | May 2021 | November 2023 | Allow | 31 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17283983 | IMPLANTABLE DUAL MODE ULTRASONIC DEVICE | April 2021 | May 2024 | Allow | 37 | 1 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17273224 | WEARABLE ANTENNA ASSEMBLY FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC HEAD IMAGING | March 2021 | August 2024 | Allow | 42 | 0 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17271796 | DECOUPLED COIL ASSEMBLIES, MAGNETIC RESONANCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF USE | February 2021 | March 2024 | Abandon | 37 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17179018 | Inductive Damping Brain Sensor | February 2021 | July 2023 | Allow | 29 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 17097996 | Ultrasonic Lesion Feedback, Antipop Monitoring, and Force Detection | November 2020 | January 2025 | Allow | 50 | 1 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17048639 | PARTICLE THERAPY SYSTEM | October 2020 | September 2023 | Allow | 35 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 16987814 | ULTRASOUND PROBE WITH OPTIMIZED THERMAL MANAGEMENT | August 2020 | February 2024 | Allow | 42 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 16936550 | BREAST BIOPSY AND NEEDLE LOCALIZATION USING TOMOSYNTHESIS SYSTEMS | July 2020 | October 2023 | Allow | 39 | 2 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 16638864 | IMAGING DEVICE | February 2020 | May 2024 | Abandon | 51 | 4 | 0 | No | No |
| 16617152 | METHOD OF MICROELECTRODE IDENTIFICATION | November 2019 | February 2024 | Allow | 51 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 15998480 | Intracardiac therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasound device | August 2018 | September 2024 | Allow | 60 | 10 | 0 | No | No |
| 16103802 | PHASED ARRAY IMAGING AND THERAPY INTRALUMINAL ULTRASOUND DEVICE | August 2018 | October 2023 | Allow | 60 | 6 | 0 | No | No |
| 14683304 | ULTRASOUND IMAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME | April 2015 | November 2018 | Allow | 43 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 14535316 | ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE, SOUND VELOCITY DERIVATION METHOD AND PROGRAM | November 2014 | April 2019 | Allow | 53 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 13282451 | HEAT-RELATED SYMPTOM DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS | October 2011 | November 2013 | Allow | 24 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner SAKAMOTO, COLIN T.
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.
✓ Filing a Notice of Appeal is strategically valuable. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.
Examiner SAKAMOTO, COLIN T works in Art Unit 3798 and has examined 89 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 91.0%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 25 months.
Examiner SAKAMOTO, COLIN T's allowance rate of 91.0% places them in the 74% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.
On average, applications examined by SAKAMOTO, COLIN T receive 1.03 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 14% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues significantly fewer office actions than most examiners.
The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by SAKAMOTO, COLIN T is 25 months. This places the examiner in the 70% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.
Conducting an examiner interview provides a +3.8% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by SAKAMOTO, COLIN T. This interview benefit is in the 25% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide a below-average benefit with this examiner.
When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 22.2% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 19% 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.
This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 30.8% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 36% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner shows below-average receptiveness to after-final amendments. You may need to file an RCE or appeal rather than relying on after-final amendment entry.
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 22% 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.
This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 100.0% of appeals filed. This is in the 100% 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.
When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 57.1% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 73% 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's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 45% percentile). This examiner makes examiner's amendments less often than average. You may need to make most claim amendments yourself.
Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 4.9% of allowed cases (in the 79% 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.
Based on the statistical analysis of this examiner's prosecution patterns, here are tailored strategic recommendations:
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.