Examiner James T. Durkin

Grant ratio: 32.7% (3rd percentile in Art Unit 2173 among examiners with at least 20 applications). Average office actions per grant: 1.38. Most common rejection type: §103.

Recently active Last office action in data: August 2026
Grant ratio 32.7%
Average office actions / grant 1.38
Compared with Art unit About average
Compared with Work group About average
Compared with Technology center About average
Compared with USPTO About average

Examiner record

Examiner ID
78296
Primary art unit
2173
Work group
2170
Technology center
2100
Applications
49
Granted applications
16
Examiner phone
(571) 270-3777
Supervisor
Kieu Vu
Supervisor phone
(571) 272-3675

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Peer comparisons

GroupExaminersAverage grant ratioAverage office actions / grant
Art Unit 20 48.8% 2.68
Group 190 48.6% 2.73
Tech Center 1,781 52.8% 2.19
USPTO 16,475 52.7% 1.98

Office actions per application

Average office actions per application 2.06 101 office actions across 49 applications
Applications with office actions 93.9% 46 applications
Office actionsApplicationsShare of applications
No OA observed 3 6.1%
1 OA 23 46.9%
2 OAs 11 22.4%
3 OAs 3 6.1%
4 OAs 4 8.2%
5+ OAs 5 10.2%

Each application is counted once. “5+” includes all higher counts.

Grant history

0.0% 25.0% 50.0% 75.0% 100.0% 2008: 71.4% 2008 2009: 100.0% 2009 2011: 0.0% 2011 2012: 0.0% 2012 2015: 0.0% 2015 2016: 0.0% 2016 2021: 0.0% 2021 2025: 0.0% 2025 2026: 0.0% 2026

Recent ratios may be lower while applications remain pending.

Yearly counts
YearApplicationsGrantsGrant rate
2008211571.4%
200911100.0%
2011100.0%
2012300.0%
20151500.0%
2016100.0%
2021100.0%
2025100.0%
2026500.0%

Rejections by office-action stage

Office-action stageActions observed§101§102§103§112
Action 1 46 2.2% 21.7% 71.7% 4.3%
Action 2 23 4.3% 8.7% 87.0% 0.0%
Action 3 12 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%
Action 4 9 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%
Action 5 5 0.0% 0.0% 80.0% 20.0%
Action 6 1 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%
Action 7 2 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%
Action 8 2 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%
Action 9 1 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 0.0%

Section 101 rejections

Last 3 years 16.7% 1 of 6 office actions
All years 2.0% 2 of 101 office actions
Change +14.7 pts Percentage points

Last 3 years: 2023-08-28–2026-08-28. All years includes every dated office action in the data.

By year

3.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014: Alice
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2025: August memo
100.0%
0.0%

Each bar is the percentage of office actions with a §101 rejection.

PTAB appeals

Matched decisions: 1. Merits outcomes: 0 affirmed, 0 affirmed in part, and 1 reversed.

Full reversal rate
100.0% 1/1 decisions
Full or partial reversal rate
100.0% 1/1 decisions
Median appeal duration
10.8 months
New grounds of rejection
0
Recent decisions
DecisionApplicationOutcomeIssues
Jun. 21, 2010 11/133,297 Reversed §103

The examiner match uses the last recorded office action before the decision. Reversal rates exclude rehearings, remands, dismissals, and other decisions that did not reach the merits. Data through Aug. 27, 2026.

Job History

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