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◈ USPTO PATENT EXAMINER STATISTICS

Examiner Michael R Vaughan

TECH CENTER 2400 · 1 ART UNIT · 993 DECIDED APPLICATIONS · LAST ACTION JUL 2026
ALLOWANCE RATE = SHARE OF DECIDED APPLICATIONS (ALLOWED + ABANDONED); PENDING EXCLUDED
OVERALL ALLOWANCE RATE · POOLED ACROSS 1 ART UNIT
82%vs 73% art-unit average+9 pts
higher than about 46% of the 46 examiners with published rates in art unit 2431
AU avg 73%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 46 examiners with published rates in art unit 2431; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 52 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 46 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Examiner Michael R Vaughan has allowed 815 of 993 decided applications.

815 allowed
178 abandoned
Plus 26 applications still pending — not yet decided, so excluded from the rate.
DATA UPDATED JULY 22, 2026

What the data says.reading this examiner

Michael R Vaughan maintains a public record in Technology Center 2400 spanning 1 art unit. Across hundreds of decided applications, the examiner's allowance rate is 82%. This figure represents the share of applications that were allowed among all decided applications (allowed and abandoned combined), excluding pending applications. The allowance rate reflects the examiner's pooled record and describes past dispositions without predicting outcomes in any individual case.

How to read these numbers.

This record aggregates decisions across the examiner's art units in TC 2400. The pooled allowance rate of 82% is a historical aggregate—a description of past allowances among decided applications—and is not a prediction of disposition in any specific application. Pooled figures smooth variation across different art units and subject matter within the technology center. Individual applications are examined 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 →

The record, art unit by art unit.1 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 2431
1,019 APPS · 82% ALLOWANCE

Allowance ratewhere this examiner sits among peers

82%
higher than about 46% of the 46 examiners with published rates in art unit 2431
AU avg 73%
0%
100%
Each short mark is one of the 46 examiners with published rates in art unit 2431; the dot is this examiner. The tick is the art-unit average, computed across all 52 examiners in the unit — a broader group than the 46 published marks, so it can sit apart from them.

Disposition993 decided applications

815 allowed
178 abandoned
Plus 26 applications still pending — not yet decided, so excluded from the rate.

Pendencymonths from filing

filed
first action 21.1mo
disposed 34mo
0
36mo
Art-unit average: first action 20.9 mo, disposed 35.1 mo.

Rejection groundsexaminer ● vs art-unit average ○

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 eligibility
AU 40
44%
§102 — Anticipation (novelty)
no AU benchmark
79%
§103 — Obviousness
AU 81
78%
§112 — Written description & definiteness
no AU benchmark
51%

Interview benefit

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

without
71%
+23 pts
with
94%

A correlation, not proof that interviews cause allowances. Based on 487 decided applications with an interview and 506 without.

// FAQ

Questions about Examiner Michael R Vaughan

  • What is Michael R Vaughan's overall allowance rate?
    The examiner's allowance rate is 82% across hundreds of decided applications pooled across all art units in TC 2400. This is the percentage of applications allowed among all decided applications (allowed and abandoned), excluding pending applications.
  • How many art units does this examiner cover?
    The public record covers 1 art unit in Technology Center 2400.
  • Does the pooled record predict the outcome of my application?
    No. The pooled allowance rate is a historical aggregate of past decisions. It does not predict the disposition of any individual application, which is examined on its own merits.
  • What does the allowance rate include and exclude?
    The 82% allowance rate reflects allowed applications as a percentage of all decided applications (allowed and abandoned combined). Pending applications are excluded from this calculation.
◈ HOW LYNCH LLP CAN HELP

Where to go next.

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METHODOLOGY & DISCLOSURES

Methodology. This page pools every art unit in which Examiner Michael R Vaughan has a public record within Technology Center 2400. Statistics are computed from publicly available USPTO records, refreshed on a recurring schedule. This page's data was last updated July 22, 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: 1,019 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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