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Examiner Stephen D Alvesteffer

TECH CENTER 2100 · 3 ART UNITS · 285 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION APR 2016
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 3 ART UNITS
63%vs 59% weighted peer average+4 pts

Examiner Stephen D Alvesteffer has allowed 180 of 285 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed180abandoned105pending0· 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 (3 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2171 · 71%AU 2175 · 49%AU 2173 · 0%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Stephen D Alvesteffer maintains a pooled allowance rate of 63% across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His public record spans three art units within this technology center. The allowance rate ranges from 49% to 71% across these art units, reflecting variation in the decided-application record within TC 2100. This pooled figure represents the share of decided applications—allowed and abandoned combined—and does not include pending applications. The range illustrates that allowance rates differ across the examiner's art-unit assignments.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

A pooled record aggregates data across multiple art units, producing a single allowance-rate figure that reflects the examiner's overall historical performance. This aggregate rate describes past outcomes across all decided applications in the pool and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. The range shown (49% to 71%) reflects historical variation among the individual art units but does not identify which rate applies to which unit. Pooled statistics serve as a snapshot of historical record; individual applications proceed on their own merits.

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 2171
203 APPS · 71% ALLOWANCE
71% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 56%
DISPOSITION144 / 59 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION27.3 moart unit avg 22 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY55.2 moart unit avg 37.2 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 eligibility49%art unit 38%+11 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)68%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness91%art unit 89%+2 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness20%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW80%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW64%+16 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 87 decided applications with an interview and 116 without.

ART UNIT 2175
73 APPS · 49% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines general computer details, and program control and execution.

49% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 66%
DISPOSITION36 / 37 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION29.8 moart unit avg 22.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY53.3 moart unit avg 37.8 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 eligibility0%art unit 29%29 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)100%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness100%art unit 87%+13 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness100%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW73%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW21%+52 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 40 decided applications with an interview and 33 without.

ART UNIT 2173
9 APPS · 0% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA
0% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 49%
DISPOSITION0 / 9 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION32.1 moart unit avg 25.2 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY39.4 moart unit avg 40.1 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Stephen D Alvesteffer

  • What is the overall allowance rate for this examiner?
    The pooled allowance rate is 63% across hundreds of decided applications, representing the share of allowed and abandoned applications in the examiner's record across all assigned art units.
  • How many art units does this examiner work in?
    The examiner's public record spans three art units, all within Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security).
  • What is the range of allowance rates across the examiner's art units?
    Allowance rates range from 49% to 71% across the examiner's art units, reflecting variation in the decided-application record within TC 2100.
  • Does the pooled allowance rate predict the outcome of my application?
    No. The pooled rate describes past outcomes and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Each application proceeds on its individual merits.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Stephen D Alvesteffer 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: 285 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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