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Patent Examiner Robert Franklin Long

Art Unit 3731 · Package Making, Staplers & Power Tools · Tech Center 3700 · 304 applications filed 2021–2026

⚑ Hard · harder than 66% of examiners● Free examiner data

Robert Franklin Long is a USPTO patent examiner in Art Unit 3731 (Package Making, Staplers & Power Tools) with 304 applications from filing years 2021–2026. Examiner Long's allowance rate is 75.8%, below the 83.9% USPTO average for applications filed in the same years. The examiner ranks harder than 66% of examiners. In 2022, decided applications with an examiner interview were allowed 10.5 percentage points more often than those without.

Draft a response to Examiner LongSee the strategy data ↓

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

Overview

Free
Difficulty · Hard
harder than 66% of examiners
Easier66th percentileHarder
Allowance rate vs peers
Examiner Long75.8%
Art Unit 373186.3%
USPTO average83.9%
Allowance rate
75.8%
▼ USPTO avg 83.9%
Applications
304
filing years 2021–2026
First-action allowance
6.3%
patented with no rejection
Abandoned
15.1%
share of applications
Avg office actions
2.1
USPTO avg 1.1
Days to first OA
507
▼ USPTO 572
RCE rate
36.8%
USPTO 15.4%
Interview rate
37.5%
USPTO 22.7%

Examiner details

  • Art unit3731 · Package Making, Staplers & Power Tools
  • Title / gradePrimary Patent Examiner · GS-14
  • Service19 years
  • PhoneOn each office action
  • In USPTO recordsLONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN
Full signatory authority

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

Examines (USPC classes)
227 · Elongated-Member-Driving Apparatus173 · Tool Driving or Impacting408 · Cutting by Use of Rotating Axially Moving Tool

How to improve your odds with Examiner Long

  • The data favors an interview. Interviewed cases were allowed more often in all 4 measured years, by 2.6 to 19.0 points.
  • The timeline runs ahead of the norm. First office action averages 507 days vs the 572-day USPTO norm.
  • Expect a §103. Obviousness is the most-issued rejection (234), and applicants overcame it 56.2% of the time.
  • RCE outcomes are mixed year to year. Cases with an RCE were allowed more often in 3 of the 4 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 Novelty183 issued · 63.2% overcome
§103 Obviousness234 issued · 56.2% overcome
§112 Definiteness & disclosure143 issued · 64.7% overcome
How applicants traverse §103 rejections🔒 Members

Of the 40 winning responses to Examiner Long's §103 rejections that Boundly has classified, 29 (73%) amended the claims and argued, 8 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 Long.

YearRCE rateAllowance w/ RCEAllowance w/oDelta
202437.1%100.0%83.3%+16.7pp
202346.4%94.4%90.6%+3.8pp
202251.0%57.1%61.9%-4.8pp
202142.4%65.2%64.7%+0.5pp

Recent outcomes

Free🔒 Case detail for members
App #TitleOutcomeOAsArguments & redline
18/154656Drilling ApparatusPatented4🔒 View
19/038908Power Tool Control for Shutdown EventPatented2🔒 View
19/029307Multi-Speed Power Tool with Electronic ClutchPatented2🔒 View
18/647445Air Motor with Increased Dwell at Max Vane ExtensionPatented2🔒 View
See all 304 applications with full file-wrapper detailOffice action text, attorney arguments, amendments & claim-by-claim track changes
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Art Unit 3731 technology

Package makingPower toolsSurgical staplersNailers & fastener driversTop CPC B65B · A61B · B25F
About this examiner. Robert Franklin Long examines in Art Unit 3731 (Package Making, Staplers & Power Tools, Tech Center 3700). The art unit's docket includes package making, power tools, surgical staplers, and nailers & fastener drivers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Examiner Robert Franklin Long's allowance rate?
Examiner Long's allowance rate is 75.8%, compared with 83.9% across the USPTO and 86.3% in Art Unit 3731 for applications filed in the same years. That rate ranks Examiner Long harder than 66% of examiners.
Is Examiner Long a hard examiner?
Somewhat. Examiner Long ranks harder than 66% of examiners, in the 66th difficulty percentile (hard). Examiner Long has a 75.8% allowance rate versus 83.9% across the USPTO and 86.3% in Art Unit 3731, 2.1 office actions per application versus 1.1, and an RCE rate of 36.8% versus 15.4% across the USPTO, for applications filed in the same years.
Do examiner interviews help with Examiner Long?
In this examiner's record, yes. Decided applications with an interview were allowed more often in each of the 4 measured years, by 2.6 to 19.0 percentage points. In 2022, 65.0% of decided applications with an interview were allowed, versus 54.5% of those without.
What is Examiner Long's most common rejection?
§103 obviousness, issued 234 times in the data. Applicants overcame it 56.2% of the time. Of the 40 winning responses Boundly has classified, 29 amended the claims and argued.
Is an RCE worth filing with Examiner Long?
It has varied by year, so the table is the better guide. Decided applications with an RCE were allowed more often in 3 of the 4 measured years. In 2021, 65.2% of decided applications with an RCE were allowed, versus 64.7% of those without one. In 2022, the figures were 57.1% versus 61.9%.
How long until the first office action from Examiner Long?
About 507 days on average, versus 572 days across the USPTO for applications filed in the same years.

Put Examiner Long'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 Robert Franklin Long, or see an error? Request a correction.