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Examiner Jennifer C Sawyer

TECH CENTER 1600 · 5 ART UNITS · 967 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUL 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 5 ART UNITS
73%vs 68% weighted peer average+5 pts

Examiner Jennifer C Sawyer has allowed 707 of 967 decided applications in Biotechnology and Organic fields.

707 allowed
260 abandoned
Plus 78 applications still pending — not yet decided, so excluded from the rate.
The weighted peer average (68%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (5 art units).
DATA UPDATED AUGUST 27, 2026
AU 1671 · 70%AU 1691 · 88%AU 1621 · 57%AU 1622 · 82%AU 1692 · 71%
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Outcomes over timemonths since first office action

grantedpendingabandoned
granted 73%abandoned 22%0%50%100%048mo36momonths since first office action
↳ move your cursor across the chart to read any month

Within 36 months of the first office action, 72.97% of Examiner Jennifer C Sawyer's applications had been granted and 21.83% had been abandoned. This counts each application from its own first office action, so it covers a different population than the overall allowance rate above, which is measured across decided applications only.

Office actions per allowanceexaminer ● vs weighted peer average ○

Mailed office actions per allowed application
1.49
1.04

Counts mailed office actions on the merits — non-final and final — over this examiner's 707 allowed applications. A first-action allowance counts as zero, and a notice of allowance is not an office action.

The weighted peer average (1.49) blends the per-art-unit averages, weighted by this examiner's allowed applications in each: 1671 (1.76), 1691 (1.38), 1621 (1.36), 1622 (1.40), 1692 (1.25). Each art-unit figure is the unweighted mean of the individual examiner values in that art unit — the peer-typical figure, not the art unit's own ratio.

What the data says.reading this examiner

Jennifer C Sawyer maintains a pooled allowance rate of 73% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 1600 (Biotechnology and Organic fields). Her public record spans 5 art units within TC 1600. The allowance rate—the share of decided applications that were allowed rather than abandoned—reflects her aggregate record pooled across all art units in which she has examined. Allowance rates across individual art units within her portfolio range from 57% to 88%, reflecting variation in the composition and outcomes of applications examined across different art-unit areas.

Reading a pooled record.

This pooled record aggregates the examiner's work across multiple art units and represents her historical allowance rate on decided applications. The figures describe past outcomes and do not constitute a prediction of how any specific application will be examined or decided. Pooled statistics combine different art units and applicant profiles; individual applications may follow different paths based on their specific claims, prior art, and prosecution history.

These are aggregate statistics from this examiner's past public record — not predictions about any specific application. The per-art-unit figures below show how the record varies across art units. Our approach to patent prosecution →

Appeals, stage by stagepre-appeal conference, then the Board

STAGE 1 · CONFERENCE43613REQUESTSn = 13counts only
6 of 13 proceed
+ 33 never asked
STAGE 2 · APPEAL50%28%13%46APPEALSn = 46rates shown
STAGE 1 · CONFERENCE OUTCOME · n = 13
  1. Proceeded to appeal6—
  2. Allowed at conference4—
  3. Prosecution reopened3—
STAGE 2 · APPEAL OUTCOME · n = 46
  1. Allowed2350%
  2. Affirmed1328%
  3. Abandoned613%
  4. Reversed25%
  5. Pending24%

Appeal outcomes are counted from USPTO transaction records. Where an examiner has few appeals on record, these figures describe what happened in those cases and should not be read as a rate.

Rates are not shown below 20 cases, because a single case would move the figure by more than five percentage points.

Categories report what happened to the appeal, not the application's final fate — most appeals resolve without a Board decision, and an application whose rejection the Board affirmed can still be granted afterward.

HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

Past outcomes, not predictions — identity, attribution, and coverage limits on every figure on this page. Expand for the full list.

These figures describe outcomes already on the public record. They do not predict the outcome of any application and are not legal advice.

Reassigned applications. The USPTO publishes only the examiner currently assigned to an application. Where an application has changed examiners, its entire history — including office actions issued by a predecessor — is attributed here to the current examiner.

Examiner identity. The USPTO publishes no stable examiner identifier. Identity on this site is derived from the examiner's published name together with the art unit. An examiner's record is pooled across the art units they worked in within a technology center. An examiner who has worked in more than one technology center appears here more than once, with their record split between those pages. Two examiners who share a name within a single art unit may be combined into one record.

Comparing across technology centers. Rejection-ground rates (§101, §102, §103, §112) track the subject matter a technology center examines, not examiner severity. Technology Center 1600's rates are comparable with other art units inside TC 1600 and are not comparable with rates from a different technology center.

Comparing examiners. An examiner's rates are shown here against the average for their art unit, which is the closest available comparison because art units group related subject matter. Comparisons get less reliable the further you move from that — between art units, and especially between technology centers, differences in subject matter, applicant population, and prior art make raw rate comparisons misleading. Where an examiner has few applications on record, small changes in the underlying data move the percentages a great deal.

Applications not counted. An application whose currently assigned examiner has moved to a USPTO business unit outside the examining technology centers is absent from this record, together with every office action on it — even where those actions issued while the application sat in an art unit shown here.

Coverage is incomplete. This site does not include every patent application. Applications that may not appear here include those examined in technology centers not listed on this site; those that moved elsewhere within the Office, such as to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on appeal, to central reexamination, to the Office of Petitions, or to design or plant examination; those never published, including applications filed with a nonpublication request and those abandoned before publication; provisional applications, which are not examined on the merits; anything filed or acted on after the refresh date above; and individual applications or office actions that the USPTO's public services did not return when we retrieved them. That list is illustrative, not exhaustive.

Counts may be low. The individual outcomes described here are matters of public record. The counts and rates computed from them are ours, and they are incomplete. Because of those gaps a count here may be lower than the true figure. We cannot state the size of the difference, and it is not uniform — one examiner's page may be close to complete while another's is materially short. Rates are computed from these same counts, so the uncertainty sits in both the numerator and the denominator. Do not treat a figure here as a count of record; verify against Patent Center, PatentsView, or the Patent Examination Data System before relying on it.

An absent figure. Where a figure is absent, we did not retrieve the underlying records. It does not mean the value is zero, and it does not mean the USPTO holds no such records.

Rejection-ground retrieval. Office-action rejection records are retrieved from the USPTO's office-action dataset in date-bounded batches sized so that each is returned whole in a single response. Retrieved this way, repeated pulls return the same set of records — the retrieval is reproducible. That is a property of our retrieval, not a guarantee that the USPTO dataset itself is complete; the coverage caveats above apply to these figures as to every other.

Compiled from USPTO records as published on August 27, 2026. Prosecution continues after that date and is not reflected here.

The record, art unit by art unit.5 art units

Each section benchmarks this examiner against that art unit's average. Figures are this examiner's own public record within the art unit; the overall rate above pools them.

◈ PRIMARY · ART UNIT 1671
293 APPS · 70% ALLOWANCE

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

70%
higher than about 48% of the 64 examiners with published rates in art unit 1671
AU avg 62%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 64 examiners with published rates in art unit 1671; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 65 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 64 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Disposition293 decided applications

206 allowed
87 abandoned
No applications pending.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 16.4mo
disposed 32.3mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 24 mo, disposed 38.6 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

REJECTION RATE = SHARE OF THIS EXAMINER'S APPLICATIONS THAT DREW ≥1 OFFICE-ACTION REJECTION IN WHICH THE GROUND APPEARS

Grounds can co-occur, so the four don't sum to 100%. The art-unit figure is the unweighted mean across examiners in the art unit; where an art unit has no computed average for a ground, that row says so rather than showing a comparison.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility
37%
12%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
63%
55%
§103 — Obviousness
70%
79%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
71%
55%

Interview benefit

Allowance rate for applications with an examiner interview versus without one.

without
92%
−42 pts
with
50%

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 149 decided applications with an interview and 144 without.

◈ ART UNIT 1691
264 APPS · 88% ALLOWANCE

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

88%
higher than 6 of the 13 examiners with published rates in art unit 1691
AU avg 78%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 13 examiners with published rates in art unit 1691; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 14 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 13 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Disposition186 decided applications

163 allowed
Plus 78 applications still pending — not yet decided, so excluded from the rate.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 24.9mo
disposed 32.8mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 25 mo, disposed 35.3 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

REJECTION RATE = SHARE OF THIS EXAMINER'S APPLICATIONS THAT DREW ≥1 OFFICE-ACTION REJECTION IN WHICH THE GROUND APPEARS

Grounds can co-occur, so the four don't sum to 100%. The art-unit figure is the unweighted mean across examiners in the art unit; where an art unit has no computed average for a ground, that row says so rather than showing a comparison.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility
12%
17%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
75%
69%
§103 — Obviousness
73%
79%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
63%
60%

Interview benefit

Allowance rate for applications with an examiner interview versus without one.

without
85%
+10 pts
with
95%

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 56 decided applications with an interview and 130 without.

◈ ART UNIT 1621
235 APPS · 57% ALLOWANCE

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

57%
higher than about 35% of the 79 examiners with published rates in art unit 1621
AU avg 63%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 79 examiners with published rates in art unit 1621; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 81 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 79 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Disposition235 decided applications

135 allowed
100 abandoned
No applications pending.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 18.4mo
disposed 29.1mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 18.9 mo, disposed 31.2 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

REJECTION RATE = SHARE OF THIS EXAMINER'S APPLICATIONS THAT DREW ≥1 OFFICE-ACTION REJECTION IN WHICH THE GROUND APPEARS

Grounds can co-occur, so the four don't sum to 100%. The art-unit figure is the unweighted mean across examiners in the art unit; where an art unit has no computed average for a ground, that row says so rather than showing a comparison.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility
11%
7%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
52%
53%
§103 — Obviousness
68%
72%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
59%
52%

Interview benefit

Allowance rate for applications with an examiner interview versus without one.

without
50%
+20 pts
with
70%

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 84 decided applications with an interview and 151 without.

◈ ART UNIT 1622
222 APPS · 82% ALLOWANCE

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

82%
higher than about 71% of the 52 examiners with published rates in art unit 1622
AU avg 68%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 52 examiners with published rates in art unit 1622; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average.

Disposition222 decided applications

181 allowed
41 abandoned
No applications pending.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 15.1mo
disposed 24.8mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 18.6 mo, disposed 30.3 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

REJECTION RATE = SHARE OF THIS EXAMINER'S APPLICATIONS THAT DREW ≥1 OFFICE-ACTION REJECTION IN WHICH THE GROUND APPEARS

Grounds can co-occur, so the four don't sum to 100%. The art-unit figure is the unweighted mean across examiners in the art unit; where an art unit has no computed average for a ground, that row says so rather than showing a comparison.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility
13%
15%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
66%
81%
§103 — Obviousness
64%
80%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
67%
59%

Interview benefit

Allowance rate for applications with an examiner interview versus without one.

without
82%
−1 pt
with
81%

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 107 decided applications with an interview and 115 without.

◈ ART UNIT 1692
31 APPS · 71% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

71%
higher than 4 of the 15 examiners with published rates in art unit 1692
AU avg 71%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 15 examiners with published rates in art unit 1692; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 16 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 15 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Disposition31 decided applications

22 allowed
9 abandoned
No applications pending.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 26.5mo
disposed 34.1mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 25.2 mo, disposed 36 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

REJECTION RATE = SHARE OF THIS EXAMINER'S APPLICATIONS THAT DREW ≥1 OFFICE-ACTION REJECTION IN WHICH THE GROUND APPEARS

Grounds can co-occur, so the four don't sum to 100%. The art-unit figure is the unweighted mean across examiners in the art unit; where an art unit has no computed average for a ground, that row says so rather than showing a comparison.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility
18%
6%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
85%
76%
§103 — Obviousness
78%
53%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
61%
41%

Based on 31 applications — too small a sample to characterize the rejection mix reliably; shown for completeness.

// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Jennifer C Sawyer

  • What is Jennifer C Sawyer's overall allowance rate?
    Her pooled allowance rate is 73% across hundreds of decided applications in TC 1600.
  • How many art units does she examine in?
    She has a public record spanning 5 art units within Technology Center 1600 (Biotechnology and Organic fields).
  • Do allowance rates vary across her art units?
    Yes. Allowance rates across individual art units in her record range from 57% to 88%, reflecting differences in the applications and subject matter examined in each art unit.
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Lynch LLP's patent practice →Application drafting, office-action responses, and prosecution strategy before the USPTO.Work before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board →Appeals, inter partes review, and patent-owner defense before the PTAB.Planning a patent portfolio over time →How a patent portfolio is sequenced and built over a multi-year horizon.The firm's consultation options →Free and paid consultation options across the firm's attorneys.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Jennifer C Sawyer has a public record within Technology Center 1600. Statistics are computed from publicly available USPTO records, refreshed on a recurring schedule. This page's data was last updated August 27, 2026. The overall allowance rate is total allowed divided by total decided applications (allowed plus abandoned) across all art units — not an average of the per-art-unit rates; pending applications are excluded. Figures are rounded for display. Pooled sample: 1,045 applications.

Rejection rates. Each §-rate is the share of this examiner's applications that drew at least one office-action rejection in which that statutory ground appears; applications with no rejection on record are excluded, and because grounds can co-occur the four do not sum to 100%. The art-unit figure beside each is the unweighted mean of the per-examiner rates across the art unit, published for §101 and §103 only. Beside the overall allowance rate we show a benchmark: for a single-art-unit examiner it is exactly that art unit's average, labeled “art-unit average”; for an examiner spanning several art units it is the “weighted peer average” — the per-art-unit averages, weighted by this examiner's application count in each — labeled distinctly because it is a blended figure, not any single art unit's average. Both are built from the same per-art-unit averages the panels show.

Office actions per allowance. Mailed office actions on the merits — non-final and final — averaged over this examiner's allowed applications. A first-action allowance counts as zero and is included; a notice of allowance is not an office action. The comparison figure is built the same way as the allowance-rate benchmark — from each art unit's own average for this measure — weighted here by this examiner's allowed applications in each art unit, since that is this measure's own denominator. Each art unit's figure is the unweighted mean of its examiners' individual values, so it is the peer-typical figure rather than the art unit's own ratio.

Lynch LLP is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Examiner statistics are derived from publicly available USPTO data.

These statistics describe past examiner behavior and do not predict the outcome of any particular application. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Where this page compares an examiner's allowance rate to an art-unit average, that comparison is a factual description of the public record, not a characterization of any individual examiner's conduct or competence.

This page is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing it. Consult a registered patent practitioner about your own matter. These figures are reproduced and recombined by Lynch LLP from the USPTO's Patent File Wrapper bulk archive and Open Data Portal APIs; they are not an official USPTO publication, and the USPTO has not reviewed, endorsed, or verified them. If a page here is wrong, tell us at lynchllp.com/contact and we will correct or remove it. Full disclaimers →

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