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Examiner Michelle N Owyang

TECH CENTER 2100 · 2 ART UNITS · 642 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 2 ART UNITS
76%vs 65% weighted peer average+11 pts

Examiner Michelle N Owyang has allowed 489 of 642 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed489abandoned153pending27· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (65%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (2 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2168 · 76%AU 2169 · 33%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Michelle N Owyang maintains a public record across 2 art units within Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). Across hundreds of decided applications, her allowance rate stands at 76%. This figure represents the percentage of applications in her pooled record that were allowed, among all decided applications (allowed and abandoned combined). The record spans multiple art units, aggregating outcomes across different subject-matter categories within TC 2100. This pooled allowance rate reflects her historical record and does not constitute a prediction for any particular application.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This examiner's record is pooled across multiple art units, meaning the 76% allowance rate aggregates outcomes from different subject-matter classifications within TC 2100. Pooled figures describe past outcomes across a set of decided applications and reflect the examiner's overall record in those units. An aggregate allowance rate is not predictive of any individual application's outcome; each application is examined independently according to the relevant statutes and factual circumstances.

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 2168
666 APPS · 76% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

76% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 65%
DISPOSITION488 / 151 / 27allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION19 moart unit avg 23.3 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY36.3 moart unit avg 43.5 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 eligibility54%art unit 46%+8 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)79%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness82%art unit 83%1 pt
§112 — Written description & definiteness52%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW87%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW61%+26 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 381 decided applications with an interview and 258 without.

ART UNIT 2169
3 APPS · 33% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

33% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 47%
DISPOSITION1 / 2 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION25.1 moart unit avg 24.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY33.8 moart unit avg 40 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Michelle N Owyang

  • What is Michelle N Owyang's allowance rate?
    Her allowance rate is 76% across hundreds of decided applications pooled across all her art units. This represents the share of allowed applications among all decided (allowed and abandoned) applications in her public record.
  • How many art units does she cover?
    She maintains a public record across 2 art units in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security).
  • What does the 76% allowance rate mean for my application?
    The pooled allowance rate describes her historical record and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Each application is examined on its own merits according to applicable law and facts.
  • Does this rate apply equally to all her art units?
    This figure is pooled across all art units. Per-art-unit detail appears in a separate section of this examiner profile.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Michelle N Owyang 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: 669 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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