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Examiner Hong Chong Kim

TECH CENTER 2100 · 5 ART UNITS · 841 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION FEB 2022
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 5 ART UNITS
88%vs 74% weighted peer average+14 pts

Examiner Hong Chong Kim has allowed 739 of 841 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed739abandoned102pending0· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (74%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (5 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2138 · 90%AU 2185 · 80%AU 2188 · 89%AU 2186 · 95%AU 2187 · 100%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Hong Chong Kim maintains an 88% allowance rate across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). The examiner's record spans five art units within this technology center. Allowance rates across these art units range from 80% to 95%, reflecting variation in outcomes by art unit. This pooled figure aggregates all decided applications—those allowed and abandoned—across the full set of art units in which the examiner has maintained a substantial record.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates data across multiple art units within TC 2100. The 88% allowance rate represents the examiner's historical outcome across all decided applications in those art units combined. Pooled figures describe past outcomes and are not predictive of any individual application's prosecution. To understand outcomes specific to a particular art unit, refer to the per-art-unit breakdown.

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 2138
347 APPS · 90% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines input/output (I/O) data transfer, and memory access and allocation.

90% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 82%
DISPOSITION314 / 33 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION16.3 moart unit avg 19.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY27.5 moart unit avg 32.6 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 eligibility33%art unit 22%+11 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)71%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness73%art unit 71%+2 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness32%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW92%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW89%+3 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 133 decided applications with an interview and 214 without.

ART UNIT 2185
238 APPS · 80% ALLOWANCE
80% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION190 / 48 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION25.1 moart unit avg 21.6 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY42.4 moart unit avg 36.3 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 eligibility0%art unit 19%19 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)17%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness33%art unit 77%44 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness0%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW94%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW76%+18 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 49 decided applications with an interview and 189 without.

ART UNIT 2188
135 APPS · 89% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines computer-aided design (CAD).

89% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION120 / 15 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION22.6 moart unit avg 26.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY43 moart unit avg 39.7 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 eligibility22%art unit 55%33 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)49%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness76%art unit 75%+1 pt
§112 — Written description & definiteness45%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW90%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW89%+1 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 21 decided applications with an interview and 114 without.

ART UNIT 2186
113 APPS · 95% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines computer-aided design (CAD).

95% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 72%
DISPOSITION107 / 6 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION23.4 moart unit avg 22.9 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY34.8 moart unit avg 35 mo
ART UNIT 2187
8 APPS · 100% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines computer-aided design (CAD).

100% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 72%
DISPOSITION8 / 0 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION13.2 moart unit avg 23.3 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY17.7 moart unit avg 36.4 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Hong Chong Kim

  • What is Hong Chong Kim's allowance rate?
    The examiner's pooled allowance rate is 88% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security).
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    Hong Chong Kim has a record spanning five art units: 2138, 2185, 2186, 2187, and 2188.
  • Does the allowance rate vary by art unit?
    Yes. Allowance rates across the examiner's art units range from 80% to 95%. Per-art-unit detail is available in the separate art-unit section.
  • Is this pooled rate predictive of my application?
    No. This pooled figure describes historical outcomes across all decided applications and art units. It is not a prediction of any specific application's prosecution outcome.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Hong Chong Kim 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: 841 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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