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Examiner Clifford H Knoll

TECH CENTER 2100 · 2 ART UNITS · 478 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JAN 2014
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 2 ART UNITS
83%vs 82% weighted peer average+1 pt

Examiner Clifford H Knoll has allowed 396 of 478 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed396abandoned82pending0· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (82%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (2 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2111 · 85%AU 2112 · 73%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Clifford H Knoll has a public record across two art units in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His pooled allowance rate across hundreds of decided applications is 83%, meaning that of applications with a final decision (allowed or abandoned), 83% were allowed. The allowance rate ranges from 73% to 85% across his art units, reflecting variation in outcomes among the different subject-matter areas he examines within the technology center.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates application outcomes across multiple art units. The 83% overall allowance rate describes past outcomes in decided cases and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Because the record combines different art units, the aggregate figure reflects an average across those units. Individual art-unit records may show different allowance rates; the range provided (73% to 85%) indicates that variation.

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 →

// BY ART UNIT

The record, art unit by art unit.

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 2111
381 APPS · 85% ALLOWANCE
85% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 80%
DISPOSITION325 / 56 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION21.4 moart unit avg 20.2 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY33.9 moart unit avg 31.7 mo
// REJECTION PROFILE
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; §102 and §112 carry no art-unit benchmark.

§101 — Subject-matter eligibility10%art unit 21%11 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)84%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness76%art unit 72%+4 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness14%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW62%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW91%-29 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 73 decided applications with an interview and 308 without.

ART UNIT 2112
97 APPS · 73% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines error detection, correction, and monitoring, and error-correcting coding/decoding.

73% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 89%
DISPOSITION71 / 26 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION27 moart unit avg 21.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY44.6 moart unit avg 31.8 mo
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW83%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW68%+15 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 35 decided applications with an interview and 62 without.

// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Clifford H Knoll

  • What is Clifford H Knoll's overall allowance rate?
    His allowance rate across decided applications is 83%, meaning 83% of applications with final decisions (allowed or abandoned) were allowed.
  • How many art units does this examiner work in?
    Knoll has a public record across two art units within TC 2100.
  • Does the allowance rate vary by art unit?
    Yes. The allowance rate ranges from 73% to 85% across his art units, reflecting different outcomes in different subject areas within the technology center.
  • What does the 83% rate tell me about my application?
    It describes past outcomes in decided cases only and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Individual applications depend on their facts and claims.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Clifford H Knoll has a public record within Technology Center 2100. Statistics are computed from publicly available USPTO records, refreshed on a recurring schedule. This page's data was last updated July 14, 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: 478 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.

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. Full disclaimers →

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