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Patent Examiner Hilary L. Gutman

Art Unit 3612 · Land Vehicle Bodies, Tops & Fenders · Tech Center 3600 · 300 applications filed 2021–2026

⚑ Hard · harder than 68% of examiners● Free examiner data

Hilary L. Gutman is a USPTO patent examiner in Art Unit 3612 (Land Vehicle Bodies, Tops & Fenders) with 300 applications from filing years 2021–2026. Examiner Gutman's allowance rate is 74.1%, below the 82.8% USPTO average for applications filed in the same years. The examiner ranks harder than 68% of examiners. In 2021, decided applications with an examiner interview were allowed 15.9 percentage points more often than those without.

Draft a response to Examiner GutmanSee the strategy data ↓

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

Overview

Free
Difficulty · Hard
harder than 68% of examiners
Easier68th percentileHarder
Allowance rate vs peers
Examiner Gutman74.1%
Art Units 3612, 3614, and 361689.7%
USPTO average82.8%
Allowance rate
74.1%
▼ USPTO avg 82.8%
Applications
300
filing years 2021–2026
First-action allowance
13.4%
patented with no rejection
Abandoned
18.7%
share of applications
Avg office actions
1.4
USPTO avg 1.3
Days to first OA
669
▲ USPTO 613
RCE rate
15.3%
USPTO 18.6%
Interview rate
28.7%
USPTO 26.3%

Examiner details

  • Art unit3612 · Land Vehicle Bodies, Tops & Fenders
  • Title / gradePrimary Patent Examiner · GS-14
  • Service27 years
  • PhoneOn each office action
  • Email[email protected]
  • In USPTO recordsGUTMAN, HILARY L
Full signatory authority

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

Examines (USPC classes)
296 · Land Vehicles: Bodies & Tops410 · Freight Accommodation on Freight Carrier298 · Land Vehicles: Dumping

How to improve your odds with Examiner Gutman

  • The data favors an interview. Interviewed cases were allowed more often in all 4 measured years, by 6.3 to 18.2 points.
  • Plan for the timeline. First office action averages 669 days vs the 613-day USPTO norm.
  • Expect a §103. Obviousness is the most-issued rejection (238), and applicants overcame it 50.0% of the time.
  • RCE outcomes are mixed year to year. Cases with an RCE were allowed more often in 1 of the 3 measured years. Weigh the year-by-year table before spending the fee.

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 Novelty145 issued · 60.3% overcome
§103 Obviousness238 issued · 50.0% overcome
§112 Definiteness & disclosure179 issued · 65.5% overcome
How applicants traverse §103 rejections🔒 Members

Applicants overcame 97 of the 194 decided §103 obviousness rejections from Examiner Gutman in the data. 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 Gutman.

YearRCE rateAllowance w/ RCEAllowance w/oDelta
202323.6%60.0%75.0%-15.0pp
202217.0%87.5%75.0%+12.5pp
202111.4%70.0%70.5%-0.5pp

Recent outcomes

Free🔒 Case detail for members
App #TitleOutcomeOAsArguments & redline
18/365472Windshield Mounting AssemblyPatented1🔒 View
18/994482Cover Assembly for Truck BedPatented2🔒 View
18/583152Glass RunPatented1🔒 View
18/429929Front Frame Structure for Electric VehiclePatented2🔒 View
See all 300 applications with full file-wrapper detailOffice action text, attorney arguments, amendments & claim-by-claim track changes
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Art Unit 3612 technology

Body structures & framesCargo beds & load coversInterior storage & seatingDoors, roofs & windowsTop CPC B62D · B60R · B60J
About this examiner. Hilary L. Gutman examines in Art Unit 3612 (Land Vehicle Bodies, Tops & Fenders, Tech Center 3600). The art unit's docket includes body structures & frames, cargo beds & load covers, interior storage & seating, and doors, roofs & windows.

Frequently asked questions

What is Examiner Hilary L. Gutman's allowance rate?
Examiner Gutman's allowance rate is 74.1%, compared with 82.8% across the USPTO and 89.7% in Art Units 3612, 3614, and 3616 for applications filed in the same years. That rate ranks Examiner Gutman harder than 68% of examiners.
Is Examiner Gutman a hard examiner?
Somewhat. Examiner Gutman ranks harder than 68% of examiners, in the 68th difficulty percentile (hard). Examiner Gutman has a 74.1% allowance rate versus 82.8% across the USPTO and 89.7% in Art Units 3612, 3614, and 3616, 1.4 office actions per application versus 1.3, and an RCE rate of 15.3% versus 18.6% across the USPTO, for applications filed in the same years.
Do examiner interviews help with Examiner Gutman?
In this examiner's record, yes. Decided applications with an interview were allowed more often in each of the 4 measured years, by 6.3 to 18.2 percentage points. In 2021, 81.5% of decided applications with an interview were allowed, versus 65.6% of those without.
What is Examiner Gutman's most common rejection?
§103 obviousness, issued 238 times in the data. Applicants overcame it 50.0% of the time.
Is an RCE worth filing with Examiner Gutman?
It has varied by year, so the table is the better guide. Decided applications with an RCE were allowed more often in 1 of the 3 measured years. In 2022, 87.5% of decided applications with an RCE were allowed, versus 75.0% of those without one. In 2023, the figures were 60.0% versus 75.0%.
How long until the first office action from Examiner Gutman?
About 669 days on average, versus 613 days across the USPTO for applications filed in the same years.
How do I contact Examiner Hilary L. Gutman?
Examiner Gutman can be reached by email at [email protected]. The examiner's direct line is listed at the end of the examiner's office actions.

Put Examiner Gutman's data to work on your next response.

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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 Hilary L. Gutman, or see an error? Request a correction.