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Examiner Van Hong Oberly

TECH CENTER 2100 · 3 ART UNITS · 676 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUN 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 3 ART UNITS
76%vs 63% weighted peer average+13 pts

Examiner Van Hong Oberly has allowed 516 of 676 decided applications in Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security.

allowed516abandoned160pending24· pending excluded from the rate
The weighted peer average (63%) is each art unit's average below, weighted by this examiner's applications in it (3 art units).
DATA UPDATED JULY 14, 2026
AU 2166 · 76%AU 2169 · 50%AU 2161 · 100%
// READING THIS EXAMINER

What the data says.

Van Hong Oberly's public record in Technology Center 2100 (Computer Architecture, Software, and Information Security) spans three art units. Across hundreds of decided applications, the allowance rate is 76%. This figure represents the share of applications that were allowed among all decided matters (allowed and abandoned combined), excluding pending applications. The record is pooled across all three art units and reflects the examiner's historical disposition rate on decided cases in this technology center.

// HOW TO READ THESE NUMBERS

How to read these numbers.

This pooled record aggregates decisions across multiple art units within TC 2100. The allowance rate of 76% describes the historical share of allowed applications among all decided matters and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome. Pooled figures smooth variations across different art units and represent past performance only. Individual art-unit records, if available separately, may show different rates.

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 2166
697 APPS · 76% ALLOWANCE

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

76% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 63%
DISPOSITION514 / 159 / 24allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION19.8 moart unit avg 23.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY37.9 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 eligibility25%art unit 44%19 pts
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)79%no art-unit benchmark
§103 — Obviousness87%art unit 81%+6 pts
§112 — Written description & definiteness13%no art-unit benchmark
// INTERVIEW SPLIT

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

WITH INTERVIEW85%allowance share
WITHOUT INTERVIEW69%+16 pt difference

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 293 decided applications with an interview and 380 without.

ART UNIT 2169
2 APPS · 50% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

50% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 47%
DISPOSITION1 / 1 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION27.8 moart unit avg 24.8 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY30.3 moart unit avg 40 mo
ART UNIT 2161
1 APPS · 100% ALLOWANCE · LIMITED DATA

Primarily examines information retrieval and database structures.

100% allowance (of decided)▏ art-unit average 62%
DISPOSITION1 / 0 / 0allowed / abandoned / pending
FIRST ACTION2.1 moart unit avg 23.1 mo
TOTAL PENDENCY9.4 moart unit avg 39 mo
// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Van Hong Oberly

  • What is Van Hong Oberly's overall allowance rate?
    The allowance rate is 76%, representing the percentage of decided applications (allowed and abandoned) that were allowed, pooled across all art units in this examiner's record.
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    The record spans three art units (2161, 2166, 2169) within Technology Center 2100.
  • What does 'decided applications' mean?
    Decided applications are those that have received a final disposition—either allowed or abandoned. Pending applications are excluded from this calculation.
  • Does the allowance rate apply to my application?
    No. The pooled allowance rate is a historical aggregate and is not a prediction of any specific application's outcome.
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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Van Hong Oberly 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: 700 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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