With 15 consecutive years on the Fortune 500 list, Monsanto has had a huge impact on innovation in modern farming and biotech. As a patent analytics company, we were curious to see how Bayer's recent acquisition of Monsanto impacts their IP portfolio.

Last week, we identified the ten Most Difficult Examiners currently reviewing applications at the USPTO. By understanding how an examiner has performed in the past, patent professionals can manage client expectations and structure a prosecution strategy that maximizes an application’s likelihood of allowance. Through Juristat’s Examiner Reports, you can dive deeper into the decision-making mindset of each Examiner by seeing his or her typical prosecution process from application to disposition.

Knowing an examiner’s allowance rate is one of the best indicators of how difficult a patent prosecution will be. 

An Overview of Patent Prosecution Trends at the USPTO Since the Year 2000

Since the year 2000, there have been major shifts in law, policy, and the technological landscape that have had profound impacts on patent prosecution practice at the USPTO. Although we often focus our analytics on small corners of the USPTO, such as individual industries, art unit groups, and practice entities, we rarely take a step back to evaluate the general trends at work across the entire USPTO. Now, we'll pull back the curtain to reveal a few USPTO-wide prosecution trends.  

This page is intended to be a general resource for patent prosecutors to use to get a bird's-eye view of the state of patent prosecution trends across the USPO. 

Check back often, as we will periodically update this information and add new charts and graphs to bring you even more groundbreaking insights.

Over the past year, we have published articles covering a wide range of topics, from handling Alice rejections to a study of the ATF industries to the Juristat Top 100. In each of them, we have tried to lift the curtain on the inner workings of the USPTO and various industry players in order to give you, our readers, a more informed outlook on the practice of patent prosecution. Of course, given the range topics that we have covered, some of our articles are naturally going to be more popular than others.

When we think about the technologies that have changed the face of the world and built the modern era, it is impossible to forget or ignore the role of the automotive industry. The automotive industry and the broader sector that it supports defined more than two generations of economic prosperity and mobility in the United States. The automobile in many ways marked the maturity of the industrial age and has since made an indelible mark on our culture and everyday life.

Overcoming rejections is a regular part of a patent prosecutor’s practice. Broadly speaking, there are three main ways to try and overcome an examiner’s rejection: appeal, request for continuing examination (RCE), and interview with the examiner. We have previously looked at how appeals have affected application allowance since 2000, and look now at interviews and RCEs.

Patent professionals are increasingly using data analytics to streamline the pathway from initial filing to notice of allowance. Platforms like Juristat not only help ground strategic decision making prior to and during prosecution, but can also inform strategic decisions that guide business development for firms and counsel selection for patent assignees.

Juristat Search Now in Public Beta

We're excited to announce that Juristat's new search feature is now in Public Beta. Many of you helped us with valuable feedback in our silent Beta release, so thank you for all your feedback, patience, and support!