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Patent Examiner Christopher E. Dunay

Art Unit 2875 · Illumination & Lighting Devices · Tech Center 2800 · 514 applications since 2021

✓ Average: easier than 66% of examiners● Free examiner data

Christopher E. Dunay is a USPTO patent examiner in Art Unit 2875 (Illumination & Lighting Devices) who has examined 514 applications in filing years 2021–2025. Examiner Dunay's allowance rate is 90.7%, above the 82.1% USPTO average; the examiner ranks easier than 66% of examiners. Applicants who held an examiner interview saw a 2.8 percentage-point lift in allowance in 2024.

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Data through March 2026 · Source: USPTO Patent Center (formerly PAIR) · Methodology

Overview

Free
Difficulty: Average
easier than 66% of examiners
Easier34th percentileHarder
Allowance rate vs peers
Examiner Dunay90.7%
Art Unit 287591.9%
USPTO average82.1%
Allowance rate
90.7%
▲ USPTO avg 82.1%
Applications
514
filing years 2021–2025
First-action allowance
23.0%
allowed on OA #1
Abandoned
7.4%
share of applications
Avg office actions
0.9
USPTO avg 1.2
Days to first OA
268
▼ USPTO 589
RCE rate
8.4%
USPTO 14.1%
Interview rate
17.9%
USPTO 21.5%

Examiner details

  • Art unit2875 · Illumination & Lighting Devices
  • Title / gradePrimary Patent Examiner · GS-14
  • Service12 years
  • Phone(571) 270-1222
  • Email[email protected]
  • LocationAlexandria, VA 22314
  • On office actionsDunay, Christopher E
Full signatory authority

Examiner Dunay can allow an application without a supervisory sign-off, which is why an examiner interview can be decisive.

Examines (USPC classes)
362 · Illumination706 · Data Processing: Artificial Intelligence315 · Patent Classification

How to improve your odds with Examiner Dunay

  • The data favors an interview. Interviewed cases allowed 14.4 points higher in 2021, the largest measured lift on this docket.
  • The timeline runs ahead of the norm. First office action averages 268 days vs the 589-day USPTO norm.
  • Expect a §103. Obviousness is the most-issued rejection (279), and applicants overcame it 89.7% of the time.
  • The data favors an RCE here. Cases with an RCE allowed at 100.0% versus 88.8% without in 2024.
  • This docket has supported broader claims. With a 90.7% allowance rate, preserving breadth where the specification supports it has been viable.

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

Free
§101 Eligibility3 issued · 100.0% overcome
§102 Novelty183 issued · 95.2% overcome
§103 Obviousness279 issued · 89.7% overcome
§112 Disclosure115 issued · 94.0% overcome
Arguments that overcame §103 rejections🔒 Members

REMARKS: Applicant respectfully traverses the rejection under 35 U.S.C. §103. The cited references, whether taken alone or in combination, fail to teach or suggest at least the recited limitation, and the Office has not established an adequate rationale to combine the references as proposed without impermissible hindsight in that ...

Read every winning §103 argumentFull 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 Dunay.

YearRCE rateAllowance w/ RCEAllowance w/oDelta
20245.0%100.0%88.8%+11.2pp
20238.7%100.0%93.8%+6.2pp
202212.5%100.0%89.0%+11.0pp
202115.3%100.0%84.0%+16.0pp

Recent outcomes

Free🔒 Case detail: members
App #TitleOutcomeOAsArguments & redline
19/068392Light Distribution for Narrow Corridors and AislesPatented0🔒 View
19/081666Backlight Module, Viewing Mode Switching Method Thereof, and Display Device Including the Backlight ModulePatented1🔒 View
19/079417Big Rig LightPatented0🔒 View
18/829849Optical Device, Method of Manufacturing the Same, and Vehicle Including the Optical DevicePatented1🔒 View
See all 514 dispositions with full file-wrapper detailOffice action text, attorney arguments, amendments & claim-by-claim track changes
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Technology & expertise

IlluminationLighting devicesLED luminairesLight guidesTop CPC: F21V · F21S · G02B
About this examiner. Christopher E. Dunay has examined 514 applications in Art Unit 2875 (Illumination & Lighting Devices, Tech Center 2800). The docket skews toward illumination, lighting devices, led luminaires.

Frequently asked questions

What is Examiner Christopher E. Dunay's allowance rate?
Examiner Dunay's allowance rate is 90.7%, compared with the 82.1% USPTO average and 91.9% for Art Unit 2875, which places Examiner Dunay easier than 66% of examiners.
Is Examiner Dunay a hard examiner?
Examiner Dunay is about average — Examiner Dunay ranks easier than 66% of examiners, in the 34th difficulty percentile (average).
Do examiner interviews help with Examiner Dunay?
The data says yes. Interviewed applications allowed 14.4 percentage points higher than non-interviewed ones in 2021 (95.5% versus 81.1%).
What is Examiner Dunay's most common rejection?
§103 obviousness, issued 279 times in the data. Applicants overcame it 89.7% of the time, usually by amendment plus argument.
Is an RCE worth filing with Examiner Dunay?
Often, yes — every measured year ran the same way. In 2024, applications with an RCE allowed at 100.0% versus 88.8% without one.
How long until the first office action from Examiner Dunay?
About 268 days on average, versus the 589-day USPTO norm.
How do I contact Examiner Christopher E. Dunay?
Examiner Dunay can be reached by phone at (571) 270-1222 or by email at [email protected]. The examiner's direct line also appears on the first page of every office action.

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Statistics are computed by Boundly Prosecution Intel from USPTO Patent Center (formerly PAIR) file wrappers for filing years 2021–2025, updated monthly. Allowance rate (sometimes called grant rate) is the share of disposed applications that issued as patents. 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 Christopher E. Dunay, or see an error? Request a correction.