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Patent Examiner Alexander R. Niconovich

Art Unit 3711 · Golf & Ball Sports Equipment, Toys, Games & Archery · Tech Center 3700 · 443 applications filed 2021–2026

Average · harder than 60% of examiners● Free examiner data

Alexander R. Niconovich is a USPTO patent examiner in Art Unit 3711 (Golf & Ball Sports Equipment, Toys, Games & Archery) with 443 applications from filing years 2021–2026. Examiner Niconovich's allowance rate is 79.4%, below the 83.6% USPTO average for applications filed in the same years. The examiner ranks harder than 60% of examiners. In 2023, decided applications with an examiner interview were allowed 31.9 percentage points more often than those without.

Draft a response to Examiner NiconovichSee the strategy data ↓

Data through October 2026 from USPTO Patent Center (formerly PAIR) · Methodology

Overview

Free
Difficulty · Average
harder than 60% of examiners
Easier60th percentileHarder
Allowance rate vs peers
Examiner Niconovich79.4%
Art Unit 371175.5%
USPTO average83.6%
Allowance rate
79.4%
▼ USPTO avg 83.6%
Applications
443
filing years 2021–2026
First-action allowance
7.9%
patented with no rejection
Abandoned
17.2%
share of applications
Avg office actions
1.1
USPTO avg 1.2
Days to first OA
442
▼ USPTO 601
RCE rate
6.5%
USPTO 18.2%
Interview rate
28.4%
USPTO 25.8%

Examiner details

  • Art unit3711 · Golf & Ball Sports Equipment, Toys, Games & Archery
  • Title / gradePrimary Patent Examiner · GS-14
  • Service18 years
  • PhoneOn each office action
  • Email[email protected]
  • In USPTO recordsNICONOVICH, ALEXANDER R
Full signatory authority

Examiner Niconovich can allow an application without a supervisory sign-off.

Examines (USPC classes)
124 · Mechanical Guns & Projectors446 · Amusement Devices: Toys473 · Games Using Tangible Projectile

How to improve your odds with Examiner Niconovich

  • The data favors an interview. Interviewed cases were allowed more often in all 4 measured years, by 16.3 to 31.9 points.
  • The timeline runs ahead of the norm. First office action averages 442 days vs the 601-day USPTO norm.
  • Expect a §103. Obviousness is the most-issued rejection (255), and applicants overcame it 71.6% of the time.
  • The data favors an RCE here. Cases with an RCE were allowed more often in all 3 measured years, by 4.4 to 25.7 points.

Historical patterns from this examiner's past cases, shown for general information. This is not legal advice and does not predict the outcome of any specific application. Decisions about interviews, RCEs, and claim strategy should be made with a licensed patent attorney or agent.

Rejection patterns & how they get overcome

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§102 Novelty213 issued · 74.0% overcome
§103 Obviousness255 issued · 71.6% overcome
§112 Definiteness & disclosure184 issued · 76.7% overcome
How applicants traverse §103 rejections🔒 Members

Of the 123 winning responses to Examiner Niconovich's §103 rejections that Boundly has classified, 110 (89%) amended the claims and argued, 10 amended without arguing, and 3 argued without amending. Each winning response, with its arguments and claim amendments, is in the file wrapper.

Read the winning §103 argumentsFull REMARKS, amendments, claim trees & redlines from the file wrappers
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RCE behavior

Allowance after a Request for Continued Examination versus without one, per year. Use it to judge whether an RCE is worth the cost in front of Examiner Niconovich.

YearRCE rateAllowance w/ RCEAllowance w/oDelta
20247.0%85.7%81.3%+4.4pp
20225.2%100.0%74.3%+25.7pp
20218.2%100.0%81.1%+18.9pp

Recent outcomes

Free🔒 Case detail for members
App #TitleOutcomeOAsArguments & redline
18/634942Ground Launch Strike Flight Glider with Augmented Propulsory FeaturesPatented1🔒 View
18/405911Sight for Projectile LauncherPatented1🔒 View
18/242493Illuminated Device for Pre-Charged Pneumatic Gun ProjectilesPatented1🔒 View
18/749195Set of Toy Building BlocksPatented1🔒 View
See all 443 applications with full file-wrapper detailOffice action text, attorney arguments, amendments & claim-by-claim track changes
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Art Unit 3711 technology

Golf clubs & ballsBall sports equipmentToys & building setsBoard & card gamesTop CPC A63B · A63H · A63F
About this examiner. Alexander R. Niconovich examines in Art Unit 3711 (Golf & Ball Sports Equipment, Toys, Games & Archery, Tech Center 3700). The art unit's docket includes golf clubs & balls, ball sports equipment, toys & building sets, and board & card games.

Frequently asked questions

What is Examiner Alexander R. Niconovich's allowance rate?
Examiner Niconovich's allowance rate is 79.4%, compared with 83.6% across the USPTO and 75.5% in Art Unit 3711 for applications filed in the same years. That rate ranks Examiner Niconovich harder than 60% of examiners.
Is Examiner Niconovich a hard examiner?
About average. Examiner Niconovich ranks harder than 60% of examiners, in the 60th difficulty percentile (average). Examiner Niconovich has a 79.4% allowance rate versus 83.6% across the USPTO and 75.5% in Art Unit 3711, 1.1 office actions per application versus 1.2, and an RCE rate of 6.5% versus 18.2% across the USPTO, for applications filed in the same years.
Do examiner interviews help with Examiner Niconovich?
In this examiner's record, yes. Decided applications with an interview were allowed more often in each of the 4 measured years, by 16.3 to 31.9 percentage points. In 2023, 97.4% of decided applications with an interview were allowed, versus 65.5% of those without.
What is Examiner Niconovich's most common rejection?
§103 obviousness, issued 255 times in the data. Applicants overcame it 71.6% of the time. Of the 123 winning responses Boundly has classified, 110 amended the claims and argued.
Is an RCE worth filing with Examiner Niconovich?
In this examiner's record, yes. Decided applications with an RCE were allowed more often in each of the 3 measured years, by 4.4 to 25.7 percentage points. In 2024, 85.7% of decided applications with an RCE were allowed, versus 81.3% of those without one.
How long until the first office action from Examiner Niconovich?
About 442 days on average, versus 601 days across the USPTO for applications filed in the same years.
How do I contact Examiner Alexander R. Niconovich?
Examiner Niconovich can be reached by email at [email protected]. The examiner's direct line is listed at the end of the examiner's office actions.

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Statistics are computed by Boundly Prosecution Intel from USPTO Patent Center (formerly PAIR) file wrappers for filing years 2021–2026, refreshed regularly. Allowance rate (sometimes called grant rate) is the share of disposed applications that issued as patents. Office actions here are non-final and final rejections, so restriction requirements and allowances are not counted. USPTO benchmarks are weighted to each examiner's mix of filing years, and art-unit benchmarks to the art units and filing years of the examiner's own applications, so they compare like for like. The difficulty percentile ranks examiners, each counted once, so it can point the other way from the USPTO average, which counts applications. See how each number is computed. The year-by-year interview and RCE tables show up to four recent filing years, leaving out the newest one and any year with fewer than ten applications or five decided applications on either side. Historical data is provided for informational purposes only. Past examiner behavior does not guarantee future outcomes, and nothing here is legal advice or a substitute for advice from a licensed patent attorney or agent. Are you Alexander R. Niconovich, or see an error? Request a correction.