LYNCH·LLP
HOME/EXAMINERS/TC 2100/STEVEN PAUL SAX
◈ FIND AN EXAMINER, ART UNIT, OR APPLICATION #
◈ USPTO PATENT EXAMINER STATISTICS

Examiner Steven Paul Sax

TECH CENTER 2100 · 4 ART UNITS · 701 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 4 ART UNITS
75%vs 52% weighted peer average+23 pts

Examiner Steven Paul Sax has allowed 523 of 701 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed523abandoned178pending31· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (52%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (4 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2174 · 66%AU 2146 · 96%AU 2176 · 82%AU 2173 · 100%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Steven Paul Sax maintains a 75% allowance rate across hundreds of decided applications in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security). His record spans four art units within this technology center. The allowance rate—the share of decided applications (allowed and abandoned) that were allowed—ranges from 66% to 96% across his art units, reflecting variation in outcomes by subject-matter area. This pooled figure aggregates his work across all four art units and does not represent a prediction for any individual application.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

A pooled record aggregates the examiner's decisions across multiple art units into a single allowance-rate figure. This aggregate describes the examiner's historical record and reflects past outcomes across the units listed. The range of allowance rates shows variation by art unit. An aggregate allowance rate is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome and does not account for differences in application complexity, claim scope, or prior art encountered.

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 2174
492 APPS · 66% ALLOWANCE
66% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 53%
DISPOSITION325 / 167 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION27.4 moart unit avg 26.3 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY47.6 moart unit avg 42.9 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 eligibility31%art unit 33%2 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)49%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness94%art unit 90%+4 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness38%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW83%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW33%+50 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 327 decided applications with an interview and 165 without.

ART UNIT 2146
222 APPS · 96% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines artificial-intelligence and machine-learning methods.

96% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 50%
DISPOSITION183 / 8 / 31allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION32.2 moart unit avg 32 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY39.7 moart unit avg 45 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 eligibility45%art unit 71%26 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)48%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness90%art unit 91%1 pt
§112 — Written description & definiteness40%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW95%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW100%-5 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 153 decided applications with an interview and 38 without.

ART UNIT 2176
17 APPS · 82% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

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

82% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 59%
DISPOSITION14 / 3 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION21.3 moart unit avg 23.7 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY29.7 moart unit avg 40.5 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 eligibility0%art unit 40%40 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)70%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness100%art unit 87%+13 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness40%no art-unit benchmark

Based on 17 applications — too small a sample to characterize the rejection mix reliably; shown for completeness.

ART UNIT 2173
1 APPS · 100% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA
100% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 49%
DISPOSITION1 / 0 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION10.2 moart unit avg 25.2 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY15.1 moart unit avg 40.1 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Steven Paul Sax

  • What is Steven Paul Sax's overall allowance rate?
    75% of his decided applications were allowed, across hundreds of decided applications pooled across all his art units.
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    Four art units within Technology Center 2100.
  • What is the range of allowance rates across his art units?
    The allowance rate ranges from 66% to 96% across his art units. This range reflects variation in outcomes by subject-matter area within TC 2100.
  • Is the pooled allowance rate a prediction for my application?
    No. The pooled rate describes the examiner's past record and is not a prediction of any individual application's outcome.
◈ 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.

Lynch LLP's patent practiceApplication 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 Steven Paul Sax 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: 732 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