Extensions

To provide a comprehensive analysis of the patent term for US patent 11,329,973, including any adjustments, extensions, related applications, and its projected expiration date, I need to access the official USPTO records for this specific patent. While I can describe how these elements generally work, obtaining precise data requires querying the USPTO's Patent Center or Patent Public Search tool directly.

Based on the information available and general patent law principles:

1. Patent Term Adjustment (PTA)
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is granted by the USPTO to compensate for delays that occur during the patent examination process. These delays can include the USPTO failing to:

• Issue a first office action within 14 months of the application filing date.
• Respond to an applicant's reply or appeal within four months.
• Act on an application within four months after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) or a federal court.
• Issue a patent within four months after payment of the issue fee.
• Issue a patent within 36 months from the filing date of the application.

The total PTA is added to the standard 20-year patent term. To determine the exact PTA for US patent 11,329,973, one would need to review the "Issue Notification Letter" that was mailed approximately three weeks prior to the patent's issuance, or access the patent's file history in USPTO Patent Center.

2. Patent Term Extension (PTE)
Patent Term Extension (PTE) is available for patents covering certain products, most commonly pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food additives, and color additives, that undergo regulatory review (e.g., FDA approval) prior to commercial marketing. The purpose of PTE is to restore a portion of the patent term lost during this regulatory review period. The extension period cannot exceed five years, and the total patent term, including the extension, cannot exceed 14 years from the date of receipt of marketing approval. Given that US patent 11,329,973 pertains to "File format and platform for storage and verification of credentials," it is highly unlikely to be eligible for PTE, as it does not appear to cover a product subject to FDA or similar regulatory approval.

3. Continuation Applications, Divisional Applications, and Related Family Members
The patent text indicates that US11329973B2 is a continuation of several earlier U.S. patent applications, establishing its priority date. Specifically, it states: "This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/422,715, filed May 24, 2019... which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/887,873, filed Feb. 2, 2018... which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/982,981, filed Dec. 29, 2015... which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/794,878, filed Mar. 12, 2013... and claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), of U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/740,731, filed Dec. 21, 2012" [cite: Description].

• Priority Date: December 21, 2012 (from U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/740,731).
• Continuation Chain:
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/794,878 (filed Mar. 12, 2013)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/982,981 (filed Dec. 29, 2015)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/887,873 (filed Feb. 2, 2018)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/422,715 (filed May 24, 2019)
  • US16/893,023 (filed 2020-06-04) - This is the application number for US11329973B2 itself, as indicated in the bibliographic information.
• Divisional Applications: The provided text does not explicitly mention any divisional applications. Divisional applications typically arise when an applicant elects to pursue claims directed to a non-elected invention in a separate application.
• Other Related Family Members: The Google Patents page for US11329973B2 lists "US20210119987A1" as another version. This is likely the publication of one of the earlier continuation applications or a related continuation-in-part or divisional, if any. The patent also notes priority claims to US17/715,610 (filed 2022-04-07), US18/471,786 (filed 2023-09-21), US18/529,586 (filed 2023-12-05), and US19/081,047 (filed 2025-03-17), indicating a robust patent family.

4. Projected Expiration Date
For U.S. utility patents filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term generally expires 20 years from the earliest filing date of the patent application, including any priority claims to earlier non-provisional applications. However, this term can be adjusted by PTA.

The earliest priority date for US patent 11,329,973 is December 21, 2012, from the provisional application 61/740,731. Therefore, the base 20-year patent term would extend to December 21, 2032.

The Google Patents information for US11329973B2 lists an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2033-03-12. This date suggests that Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) has been applied, adding approximately 2 months and 20 days to the base term. [cite: US11329973B2] Without access to the official USPTO file wrapper, the exact calculation of this PTA cannot be confirmed, but it is consistent with the statutory provisions for PTA.

Therefore, the projected expiration date for US patent 11,329,973 is March 12, 2033, taking into account the patent term adjustment. [cite: US11329973B2]