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Examiner James E Richardson

TECH CENTER 2100 · 2 ART UNITS · 578 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 2 ART UNITS
83%vs 62% weighted peer average+21 pts

Examiner James E Richardson has allowed 478 of 578 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed478abandoned100pending17· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (62%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (2 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2167 · 78%AU 2169 · 99%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

James E Richardson holds a pooled allowance rate of 83% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His record spans 2 art units. The allowance rate—the percentage of decided applications (allowed and abandoned combined, excluding pending cases)—reflects outcomes across these art units pooled together. Allowance rates across his art units range from 78% to 99%. This aggregate figure describes the examiner's historical record and does not predict outcomes in any specific application.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates allowance data across multiple art units within TC 2100. The 83% overall figure is a historical summary, not a predictor of any individual application's outcome. Variation exists across the examiner's art units (78% to 99%), reflecting differences in subject matter, application complexity, and examiner focus within the technology center. Pooled statistics describe past performance only and do not forecast results in any pending or future case.

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 2167
444 APPS · 78% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

78% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION346 / 98 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION19.6 moart unit avg 24.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY37.6 moart unit avg 41.2 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 eligibility48%art unit 43%+5 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)77%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness86%art unit 75%+11 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness54%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW92%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW59%+33 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 253 decided applications with an interview and 191 without.

ART UNIT 2169
151 APPS · 99% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

99% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 47%
DISPOSITION132 / 2 / 17allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION18.9 moart unit avg 24.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY24.1 moart unit avg 40 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 eligibility50%art unit 57%7 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)66%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness81%art unit 88%7 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness39%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW100%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW95%+5 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 92 decided applications with an interview and 42 without.

// FAQ

Questions about Examiner James E Richardson

  • What is James E Richardson's overall allowance rate?
    His pooled allowance rate is 83% across hundreds of decided applications in TC 2100.
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    The record spans 2 art units within Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security).
  • Does the allowance rate vary across his art units?
    Yes. Allowance rates across his art units range from 78% to 99%. The pooled 83% figure aggregates these variations.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner James E Richardson 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: 595 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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