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Examiner Merilyn P Nguyen

TECH CENTER 2100 · 4 ART UNITS · 874 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 4 ART UNITS
87%vs 59% weighted peer average+28 pts

Examiner Merilyn P Nguyen has allowed 759 of 874 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed759abandoned115pending17· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (59%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (4 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2153 · 93%AU 2163 · 79%AU 2171 · 56%AU 2161 · 64%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Merilyn P Nguyen maintains a public record across 4 art units in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). Across hundreds of decided applications, the examiner's pooled allowance rate stands at 87%. This rate reflects allowed and abandoned applications within the decided set and does not include pending matters. The allowance rate ranges from 79% to 93% across these art units, indicating variation in outcomes by art-unit subject matter.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates data across multiple art units and represents the examiner's historical pattern in TC 2100. Aggregate figures describe the past decided record only and are not predictions about any specific application. Art-unit variation reflects differences in subject matter and application characteristics. Individual art-unit records, where substantial, appear separately and provide more granular context.

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 2153
556 APPS · 93% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

93% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 57%
DISPOSITION501 / 38 / 17allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION18.4 moart unit avg 27.7 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY30.2 moart unit avg 41.6 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 eligibility43%art unit 54%11 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)79%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness38%art unit 77%39 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness49%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW97%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW90%+7 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 225 decided applications with an interview and 314 without.

ART UNIT 2163
306 APPS · 79% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

79% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 64%
DISPOSITION241 / 65 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION23.9 moart unit avg 23.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY46.2 moart unit avg 40.3 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 eligibility48%art unit 51%3 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)84%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness54%art unit 77%23 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness54%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW77%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW79%-2 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 62 decided applications with an interview and 244 without.

ART UNIT 2171
18 APPS · 56% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA
56% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 56%
DISPOSITION10 / 8 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION25.6 moart unit avg 22 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY38.7 moart unit avg 37.2 mo
ART UNIT 2161
11 APPS · 64% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

64% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 62%
DISPOSITION7 / 4 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION31.1 moart unit avg 23.1 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY43.1 moart unit avg 39 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Merilyn P Nguyen

  • What is Merilyn P Nguyen's overall allowance rate?
    87%, calculated from allowed and abandoned applications across hundreds of decided cases pooled across all art units.
  • How many art units does this examiner work in?
    4 art units within TC 2100.
  • Does the allowance rate vary by art unit?
    Yes. The allowance rate ranges from 79% to 93% across these art units, reflecting differences in subject matter and application characteristics.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Merilyn P Nguyen 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: 891 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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