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Examiner Nathan L Laughlin

TECH CENTER 2100 · 7 ART UNITS · 840 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 7 ART UNITS
68%vs 70% weighted peer average2 pts

Examiner Nathan L Laughlin has allowed 570 of 840 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed570abandoned270pending55· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (70%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (7 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2119 · 80%AU 2127 · 65%AU 2123 · 55%AU 2126 · 66%AU 2118 · 66%AU 2122 · 56%AU 2125 · 60%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Nathan L Laughlin maintains a pooled allowance rate of 68% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His record spans 7 art units within this technology center. The allowance rate ranges from 55% to 80% across these art units, reflecting variation in the decided applications across different subject areas within TC 2100. This pooled figure represents applications that have been allowed or abandoned, and excludes pending applications from the calculation.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

A pooled record aggregates an examiner's allowance rates across multiple art units into a single overall figure. This aggregate describes past dispositions and does not forecast the outcome of any particular application. Individual art units within TC 2100 may show different allowance rates; the pooled rate is a summary across all of them. The range illustrates variation but does not indicate performance in any specific art unit or predict how any future application will be examined.

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 2119
315 APPS · 80% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines electric power networks, supply, and distribution.

80% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 83%
DISPOSITION209 / 51 / 55allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION21.2 moart unit avg 21.6 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY34 moart unit avg 31.5 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 eligibility11%art unit 33%22 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)85%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness82%art unit 74%+8 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness55%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW86%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW77%+9 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 106 decided applications with an interview and 154 without.

ART UNIT 2127
204 APPS · 65% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines neural-network / biological-model computing, and machine learning.

65% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION132 / 72 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION26.1 moart unit avg 28.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY46.3 moart unit avg 41.8 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 eligibility18%art unit 53%35 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)61%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness89%art unit 78%+11 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness61%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW69%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW63%+6 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 48 decided applications with an interview and 156 without.

ART UNIT 2123
121 APPS · 55% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines neural-network / biological-model computing, and machine learning.

55% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 51%
DISPOSITION66 / 55 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION23.1 moart unit avg 29.3 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY42.7 moart unit avg 43.8 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 eligibility27%art unit 61%34 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)64%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness82%art unit 85%3 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness64%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW71%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW49%+22 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 28 decided applications with an interview and 93 without.

ART UNIT 2126
103 APPS · 66% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines neural-network / biological-model computing, and machine learning.

66% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 63%
DISPOSITION68 / 35 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION24.8 moart unit avg 29.4 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY42.2 moart unit avg 44.4 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 eligibility21%art unit 53%32 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)73%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness79%art unit 88%9 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness63%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW67%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW66%+1 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 24 decided applications with an interview and 79 without.

ART UNIT 2118
96 APPS · 66% ALLOWANCE
66% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 73%
DISPOSITION63 / 33 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION20.7 moart unit avg 22.1 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY38.1 moart unit avg 36.4 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 eligibility18%art unit 30%12 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)80%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness82%art unit 82%±0 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness57%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW64%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW66%-2 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 22 decided applications with an interview and 74 without.

ART UNIT 2122
36 APPS · 56% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines neural-network / biological-model computing, and machine learning.

56% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 55%
DISPOSITION20 / 16 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION28.4 moart unit avg 27.2 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY45.7 moart unit avg 39.3 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 eligibility21%art unit 55%34 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)53%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness84%art unit 83%+1 pt
§112 — Written description & definiteness53%no art-unit benchmark

Based on 36 applications — too small a sample to characterize the rejection mix reliably; shown for completeness.

ART UNIT 2125
20 APPS · 60% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines neural-network / biological-model computing, and machine learning.

60% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 75%
DISPOSITION12 / 8 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION17.4 moart unit avg 26.4 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY26.9 moart unit avg 39 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Nathan L Laughlin

  • What is Nathan L Laughlin's allowance rate?
    His pooled allowance rate is 68% across hundreds of decided applications in TC 2100.
  • How many art units does this examiner work in?
    Nathan L Laughlin has a record across 7 art units within Technology Center 2100.
  • Does the allowance rate vary by art unit?
    Yes. Allowance rates across his art units range from 55% to 80%. The pooled figure of 68% reflects the aggregate across all art units.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Nathan L Laughlin 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: 895 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.

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