LYNCH·LLP
HOME/EXAMINERS/TC 2100/STEPHEN C ELMORE
◈ FIND AN EXAMINER, ART UNIT, OR APPLICATION #
◈ USPTO PATENT EXAMINER STATISTICS

Examiner Stephen C Elmore

TECH CENTER 2100 · 6 ART UNITS · 846 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION FEB 2018
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 6 ART UNITS
96%vs 72% weighted peer average+24 pts

Examiner Stephen C Elmore has allowed 812 of 846 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed812abandoned34pending0· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (72%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (6 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2185 · 96%AU 2188 · 95%AU 2138 · 98%AU 2186 · 94%AU 2133 · 96%AU 2131 · 100%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Stephen C Elmore maintains a pooled allowance rate of 96% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His record spans six art units: 2131, 2133, 2138, 2185, 2186, and 2188. The allowance rate ranges from 94% to 98% across these art units, reflecting variation in outcomes across the different subject-matter areas within TC 2100. This pooled figure represents the share of decided applications—those allowed or abandoned—and does not account for pending matters.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

A pooled record aggregates allowance rates across multiple art units into a single overall figure. This aggregate describes the examiner's historical outcomes across Technology Center 2100 but is not a prediction of how any specific application will be decided. The range (94% to 98%) shows that individual art units within the examiner's portfolio have produced different allowance rates. Pooled data is useful for understanding an examiner's general record; application-specific outcomes depend on the merits of each 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 2185
341 APPS · 96% ALLOWANCE
96% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION328 / 13 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION23.4 moart unit avg 21.6 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY31.3 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 eligibility50%art unit 19%+31 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)33%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness0%art unit 77%77 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness50%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW95%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW96%-1 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 20 decided applications with an interview and 321 without.

ART UNIT 2188
163 APPS · 95% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines computer-aided design (CAD).

95% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 67%
DISPOSITION155 / 8 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION21.4 moart unit avg 26.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY28.3 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 eligibility76%art unit 55%+21 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)31%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness11%art unit 75%64 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness64%no art-unit benchmark
ART UNIT 2138
134 APPS · 98% ALLOWANCE

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

98% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 82%
DISPOSITION131 / 3 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION16.5 moart unit avg 19.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY22.9 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 eligibility69%art unit 22%+47 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)15%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness6%art unit 71%65 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness45%no art-unit benchmark
ART UNIT 2186
104 APPS · 94% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines computer-aided design (CAD).

94% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 72%
DISPOSITION98 / 6 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION21 moart unit avg 22.9 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY30.3 moart unit avg 35 mo
ART UNIT 2133
97 APPS · 96% ALLOWANCE

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

96% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 82%
DISPOSITION93 / 4 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION14.7 moart unit avg 22.9 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY20.9 moart unit avg 34.8 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 eligibility8%art unit 22%14 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)30%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness19%art unit 77%58 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness54%no art-unit benchmark
ART UNIT 2131
7 APPS · 100% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

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

100% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 56%
DISPOSITION7 / 0 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION13.5 moart unit avg 26.1 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY20.1 moart unit avg 41.7 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 eligibility25%art unit 29%4 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)0%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness0%art unit 79%79 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness25%no art-unit benchmark

Based on 7 applications — too small a sample to characterize the rejection mix reliably; shown for completeness.

// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Stephen C Elmore

  • What is Stephen C Elmore's overall allowance rate?
    96%, calculated across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security).
  • How many art units does this examiner work in?
    Six art units: 2131, 2133, 2138, 2185, 2186, and 2188.
  • Does the allowance rate vary across art units?
    Yes. Across these art units, allowance rates range from 94% to 98%, showing variation in outcomes by subject area within TC 2100.
  • Is the 96% rate a prediction for my application?
    No. The pooled allowance rate describes historical outcomes and is not a prediction of any specific application's disposition.
◈ HOW LYNCH LLP CAN HELP

Where to go next.

Lynch LLP represents applicants in patent prosecution before the USPTO. These are general resources about the firm's services — not advice about this examiner or any specific application.

How the firm prosecutes patentsApplication drafting, office-action responses, and prosecution strategy before the USPTO.Work before the Patent Trial and Appeal BoardAppeals, inter partes review, and patent-owner defense before the PTAB.Planning a patent portfolio over timeHow a patent portfolio is sequenced and built over a multi-year horizon.The firm's consultation optionsFree and paid consultation options across the firm's attorneys.
◈ RESPONDING TO AN OFFICE ACTION

Strategy, not paperwork. Talk to the attorney doing the work.

Lynch LLP represents applicants in patent prosecution before the USPTO. Book a consultation to discuss your matter with the attorney who would handle it.

Book a 30-minute consultation →
METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Stephen C Elmore 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: 846 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 →

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING — Sean Lynch, Partner, Lynch LLP