Extensions — US Patent 11376136

To provide detailed information regarding US Patent 11376136, including patent term adjustments (PTA), patent term extensions (PTE), continuation applications, divisional applications, related family members, and the projected expiration date, I will rely on information typically found in the USPTO's public patent databases.

US Patent 11376136: Expandable spinal implant and tool system

Issue Date: July 5, 2022
Filing Date: January 16, 2020
Priority Date: April 12, 2005

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is granted to compensate for delays incurred by the USPTO during the prosecution of a patent application. The USPTO automatically calculates PTA and provides a notice of determination.

To determine the exact PTA for US11376136, one would typically need to review the "Patent Term Adjustment" section on the USPTO's Patent Center or review the patent's front page, which often states if PTA has been granted. Without direct access to the official USPTO patent record for 11376136 at this moment, the precise number of days of PTA cannot be definitively stated.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extensions (PTE) are distinct from PTA and are granted under 35 U.S.C. § 156 for patents on certain human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products to restore time lost during regulatory review and approval by agencies like the FDA.

As US11376136 relates to a "spinal implant and tool system," it falls under the category of medical devices, which may be eligible for a PTE. However, eligibility and the length of any extension depend on the time lost during regulatory review.

To determine if a PTE was applied to US11376136, it would be necessary to consult the USPTO's lists of applications for patent term extension and patent terms extended under 35 U.S.C. § 156, available in Patent Center. Without this specific information, it cannot be confirmed whether US11376136 has received a PTE.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

The provided patent text for US11376136 explicitly states its lineage, indicating that it is a continuation of a series of applications:

U.S. application Ser. No. 15/944,117, filed Apr. 3, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,537,442)
U.S. application Ser. No. 15/894,471, filed Feb. 12, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,969)
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/210,157, filed Aug. 15, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,889,022)
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/084,543, filed Apr. 11, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,913)
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/108,982, filed May 16, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,005,293)
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/842,855, filed Aug. 21, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,903)
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/536,815, filed Sep. 29, 2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,188)
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/208,644, filed Aug. 23, 2005 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,279)
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/670,231, filed Apr. 12, 2005 (claims priority from this provisional)

This shows that US11376136 is a continuation application in a long chain, meaning it claims priority to, and discloses subject matter from, these earlier-filed, co-pending applications. A continuation application is filed to pursue additional claims based on the same disclosure as a prior-filed, co-pending nonprovisional application.

The provided information does not explicitly state any divisional applications of US11376136. A divisional application typically arises when an earlier application contains claims to more than one invention, and the USPTO requires the applicant to elect one.

Related Family Members

The patent family members are directly identifiable from the continuation chain listed above and the "Other versions" section on Google Patents. These include:

US20200253747A1 (Publication of the application that led to US11376136B2)
U.S. Pat. No. 10,537,442
U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,969
U.S. Pat. No. 9,889,022
U.S. Pat. No. 8,353,913
U.S. Pat. No. 9,005,293
U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,903
U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,188
U.S. Pat. No. 7,704,279
US11903849B2 (Priority to US17/706,873)
US12539219B2 (Priority to US18/444,119)

Projected Expiration Date

The legal status provided in the initial patent text states: "Expired - Lifetime, expires 2026-03-17."

This statement presents a contradiction because a patent that "expires 2026-03-17" would not be labeled as "Expired - Lifetime" on May 28, 2026 (the current date). A patent term generally lasts 20 years from its earliest priority date. The earliest priority date for US11376136 is April 12, 2005, from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/670,231.

Calculating 20 years from the priority date of April 12, 2005, would put the unadjusted expiration date at April 12, 2025.

The listed "expires 2026-03-17" suggests that either:

There was some PTA awarded that extended the term beyond April 12, 2025, to March 17, 2026.
The "Expired - Lifetime" status is a current assessment given the current date (May 28, 2026) which is after March 17, 2026, meaning it is indeed expired as of the current date.

Given the current date of May 28, 2026, and the indicated expiration date of March 17, 2026, US Patent 11376136 is currently expired. The "Lifetime" reference might be a general term within the database indicating the end of its statutory life.