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

Examiner Stephen S Hong

TECH CENTER 2100 · 2 ART UNITS · 101 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 2 ART UNITS
50%vs 54% weighted peer average4 pts

Examiner Stephen S Hong has allowed 50 of 101 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed50abandoned51pending7· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (54%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (2 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2178 · 47%AU 2176 · 100%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Stephen S Hong maintains a public record across 2 art units within Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). Across hundreds of decided applications, his allowance rate is 50%. This figure represents the share of applications that issued as patents or were abandoned among all decided applications in his pooled record. The allowance rate reflects outcomes on applications that reached final disposition; pending applications are excluded from this calculation.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates data across multiple art units, presenting an overall snapshot of the examiner's historical outcomes. The allowance rate describes past results on decided applications and does not constitute a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Pooled figures mask variation across individual art units; detailed per-unit data appears separately on this page. Aggregate statistics are descriptive of prior work, not predictive tools.

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 2178
103 APPS · 47% ALLOWANCE
47% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 54%
DISPOSITION45 / 51 / 7allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION20.8 moart unit avg 25.5 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY37.7 moart unit avg 41.3 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 eligibility17%art unit 36%19 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)75%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness90%art unit 79%+11 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness57%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW60%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW42%+18 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 25 decided applications with an interview and 71 without.

ART UNIT 2176
5 APPS · 100% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

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

100% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 59%
DISPOSITION5 / 0 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION11.1 moart unit avg 23.7 mo
TOTAL PENDENCYart unit avg 40.5 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Stephen S Hong

  • What is Stephen S Hong's overall allowance rate?
    His allowance rate is 50% across hundreds of decided applications in his pooled record. This means 50% of applications that reached final disposition (allowed or abandoned) resulted in allowance.
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    Stephen S Hong has a public record spanning 2 art units in TC 2100.
  • Does this pooled rate apply to my specific application?
    No. The pooled allowance rate is a historical aggregate and is not a prediction of any individual application's outcome. Outcomes vary based on application-specific factors, claims, and prior art.
  • What does 'hundreds of decided applications' mean?
    It indicates the examiner has decided hundreds of applications (allowed and abandoned combined) across his art units. Pending applications are not included in this count or in the allowance-rate calculation.
◈ 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.

Drafting and prosecuting patent applicationsApplication drafting, office-action responses, and prosecution strategy before the USPTO.Appeals and PTAB practiceAppeals, inter partes review, and patent-owner defense before the PTAB.IP portfolio strategyHow a patent portfolio is sequenced and built over a multi-year horizon.Scheduling time with an attorneyFree 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 S Hong 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: 108 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