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Analysis and insight to bring more predictability, transparency, and equity to your patent prosecution.

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Most Difficult Examiners

Using Juristat Analytics, we identify the most difficult patent examiners in each USPTO technology center.

The Most Difficult Examiners in Each Technology Center (2023)

As a seasoned patent professional, it is likely that most of your work falls into a specific technology center, meaning you probably find yourself in front of the same examiners time and again. 

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If you find yourself in front of a USPTO examiner with a high allowance rate, first, breathe a sigh of relief. Then, consider the next steps in your patent prosecution strategy.

The Easiest Examiners at the USPTO

If you find yourself in front of an examiner with a high allowance rate, first, breathe a sigh of relief. Then, consider the next steps in your prosecution strategy. 

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The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2023)

The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2023)

When it comes to patent prosecution, knowing your examiner’s allowance rate can give you a great insight into the road that lies ahead. 

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24 Firms with the Best Track Record Against Difficult Examiners

When faced with prosecution in front of the USPTO’s most difficult examiners, these firms excelled and came away with an allowance.

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Firms and Companies in front of Difficult Examiners

Which Firms and Companies Prosecute in Front of the Most Difficult Examiners? (2021 Report)

Patent attorneys run into the same examiners from time to time, but what happens when that particular examiner happens to be one of the most difficult at the USPTO?

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uspto examiner technology center

The Most Difficult Examiners by Technology Center (2021)

Patent professionals who specialize in a specific type of technology may run into the same examiners from time to time. If that examiner is one of the most difficult in the technology center, knowledge of past performance may be the difference between an allowance and an abandonment.

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The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2021)

We continue our annual tradition of identifying the 10 USPTO examiners with the most skeptical eye toward the patent applications that cross their desks.

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The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2019)

In an update to our 2016, 2017, and 2018 lists of most difficult examiners at the USPTO, we have identified the 10 patent examiners (excluding SPEs) with the most skeptical eye toward the patent applications that cross their desks.

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uspto most difficult examiners

The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2018)

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

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The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO (2017)

In July of 2016, we published an article titled “The Most Difficult Examiners at the USPTO,” in which we identified the top 10 patent examiners across all art units whose allowance rates were the lowest. For most patent prosecutors, their examiner’s allowance rate is the clearest indicator of the overall difficulty of prosecuting a patent with that examiner, since a low allowance rate means that there likely will be more office actions, claim scope will be harder to retain, and the prosecution timeline will be longer. Thus, it is helpful for a patent prosecutor to know what his or her examiner’s allowance rate is right from the start of the prosecution in order to plan and advise clients accordingly.

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