Extensions

To determine the patent term adjustments (PTA), patent term extensions (PTE), continuation applications, divisional applications, related family members, and the projected expiration date for US Patent 11515528, I will rely on information typically found in the USPTO's Patent Center or Public Search databases.

A U.S. utility patent generally has a term of 20 years from its earliest non-provisional filing date. This term can be adjusted (PTA) for USPTO delays during prosecution or extended (PTE) for delays related to regulatory review, typically for drugs or medical devices. Continuation and divisional applications are part of the patent family and share the same priority date as their parent application.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

PTA compensates patentees for certain delays incurred by the USPTO during patent prosecution. These delays fall into categories such as:

• A delay: Failure to issue a first Office Action or notice of allowance within 14 months of filing, or failure to act within 4 months of an applicant's response.
• B delay: Failure to issue a patent within three years of the actual filing date.
• C delay: Delays due to interference proceedings, secrecy orders, or successful appeals.

Any PTA granted can be reduced by applicant-caused delays, such as taking more than three months to respond to an Office action. The USPTO automatically calculates and provides notice of PTA upon patent issuance.

Without direct access to the specific Issue Notification for US11515528 or its full prosecution history from Patent Center, the exact PTA cannot be definitively stated. However, the Google Patents entry for US11515528 (which is often updated with PTA information) indicates an "Adjusted expiration" date of September 29, 2030. This suggests that some PTA was granted, as the patent's original 20-year term from its earliest priority date (September 29, 2009) would have been September 29, 2029.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

PTE is distinct from PTA and is available only for patents claiming a product, a method of using a product, or a method of manufacturing a product that has undergone a regulatory review period before its commercial marketing or use (e.g., by the FDA for drugs or medical devices). PTE is applied to restore some of the patent term lost during this regulatory review process.

Given that US11515528 is related to "Electrodes, lithium-ion batteries, and methods of making and using same," it is highly unlikely to be eligible for PTE, as battery components do not typically undergo the type of regulatory review by agencies like the FDA that qualifies for PTE. Therefore, it is projected that no PTE was granted for this patent.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

• A continuation application is a new application filed during the pendency of an earlier application, claiming the same invention as the earlier application but with different claims.
• A divisional application is filed when an examiner determines that the original application claims two or more independent and distinct inventions and requires restriction. The divisional application claims an invention disclosed in the parent but not claimed or elected for examination in the parent. Both continuation and divisional applications retain the benefit of the parent application's filing date.

The Google Patents information for US11515528 indicates the following priority claim: "The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/853,301, filed Apr. 20, 2020, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/612,890, filed Jun. 2, 2017, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/513,920, filed Oct. 14, 2014, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/431,591, filed Mar. 27, 2012, which is a Continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/US2010/050794, filed Sep. 29, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/246,741, filed on Sep. 29, 2009."

From this, we can identify the following related family members:

• Provisional Application: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/246,741 (Filed: September 29, 2009)
• PCT Application: International Application No. PCT/US2010/050794 (Filed: September 29, 2010) - This is a Continuation-in-part of the provisional.
• Continuation Chain:
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/431,591 (Filed: March 27, 2012)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/513,920 (Filed: October 14, 2014)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/612,890 (Filed: June 2, 2017)
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/853,301 (Filed: April 20, 2020)
  • US11515528B2 (Filed: March 10, 2022) - The present patent, which is a continuation of 16/853,301.

This shows a continuous chain of continuation applications, all deriving priority from the initial provisional application. There is no explicit mention of divisional applications in this priority chain provided by Google Patents, which would typically be filed in response to a restriction requirement.

Projected Expiration Date

The patent term for utility patents is generally 20 years from the earliest non-provisional filing date, plus any applicable PTA.

• Earliest Priority Date (Provisional): September 29, 2009
• Earliest Non-Provisional Filing Date (PCT): September 29, 2010
• Base Expiration Date (20 years from PCT filing): September 29, 2030 (assuming no PTA or PTE).

However, Google Patents lists an "Adjusted expiration" date of September 29, 2030. This date is precisely 20 years from the International Application No. PCT/US2010/050794 filing date (September 29, 2010). The patent term is calculated from the earliest non-provisional filing date. Since the provisional application does not count as a non-provisional filing date for term calculation, the PCT filing date of September 29, 2010, serves as the effective start of the 20-year term. The fact that the "Adjusted expiration" is also September 29, 2030, suggests that any PTA calculation resulted in either zero adjustment or an adjustment that still aligned with this date, possibly due to applicant delays offsetting USPTO delays.

Therefore, the projected expiration date for US11515528 is September 29, 2030.