SpecialtyFeb 25, 20269 min read

Patent Examiner Intelligence: How to Use Allowance Rates, Interview Patterns, and Behavioral Data

Knowing your examiner is one of the highest-leverage activities in patent prosecution. Here is what data is available and how to use it strategically.

Why Examiner Intelligence Matters

Two identical patent applications assigned to different examiners can have radically different outcomes. One examiner may allow after a single Office Action with minor amendments. Another may issue Final Rejections repeatedly, requiring appeals or interviews to make progress.

Examiner intelligence -- the systematic analysis of an examiner's past behavior -- lets you tailor your approach before you start drafting. This is not about gaming the system. It is about communicating more effectively with the specific person who will decide your case.

8,000+

Active USPTO examiners

10-90%

Allowance rate range

2-5x

Interview success variance

1-6

Avg OAs before allowance

Key Examiner Data Points

Allowance Rate

The percentage of applications an examiner ultimately allows. High allowance rate examiners (>60%) may respond better to targeted amendments. Low allowance rate examiners (<30%) may require interviews, RCEs, or appeals.

Strategic Action: Compare the examiner's allowance rate to the art unit average. If significantly below average, plan for a longer prosecution path and consider early interviews.

Interview Success Rate

How often interviews result in subsequent allowance. Some examiners are highly responsive to interviews (>70% success rate) while others rarely change position after interviews (<20%).

Strategic Action: If the examiner has a high interview success rate, prioritize scheduling an interview before filing a written response. This can save multiple Office Action rounds.

Average Office Actions to Allowance

The typical number of OAs before an examiner allows a case. Some examiners allow after 1-2 OAs; others average 4-5.

Strategic Action: Set client expectations early based on this data. For examiners averaging 4+ OAs, discuss budget implications and consider a multi-phase prosecution strategy upfront.

Rejection Type Patterns

Which rejection types (101, 102, 103, 112) an examiner most frequently uses. Some examiners favor 103 combinations; others lean heavily on 112.

Strategic Action: Pre-emptively address the examiner's preferred rejection type in your initial response. If they favor 112 rejections, ensure your amendments have clear specification support.

Prior Art Search Behavior

How many references an examiner typically cites, whether they favor patent or NPL references, and whether they introduce new art in subsequent OAs.

Strategic Action: If the examiner frequently introduces new art in second OAs, consider broader claim amendments in the first response to reduce the chance of additional prior art being cited.

Examiner Intelligence in Abigail

Abigail automatically pulls examiner intelligence when an Office Action is uploaded. The data is integrated into the 10-expert analysis pipeline, so recommendations are tailored to the specific examiner handling your case.

Automatic examiner identification from Office Action header
Allowance rate with art unit comparison
Interview success rate and frequency
Average OAs to allowance for this examiner
Rejection type distribution (101/102/103/112 breakdown)
Prior art citation patterns (patent vs. NPL preference)
Recent trend analysis (is the examiner getting stricter or more lenient?)
Recommendations integrated into OA response strategy

Look Up Your Examiner

Upload an Office Action to instantly see examiner allowance rates, interview patterns, and tailored strategy recommendations.

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