Extensions

Prosecution and Term Analysis

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) and Patent Term Extension (PTE)

A review of the USPTO Patent Center file wrapper for Application No. 17/671,803, which matured into patent 11,566,277, shows the following:

• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): The patent was granted 0 days of PTA. The application was prosecuted efficiently, with no delays attributable to the USPTO that would warrant an adjustment to the patent's term.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): There is no record of a Patent Term Extension being sought or granted for this patent under 35 U.S.C. § 156. Such extensions are typically for delays associated with regulatory review of human drugs or medical devices and do not apply here.
• Terminal Disclaimer: A terminal disclaimer was filed on October 18, 2022, to obviate a non-statutory double patenting rejection over U.S. Patent No. 11,293,061. This disclaimer ties the enforceability of patent 11,566,277 to that of the '061 patent, ensuring it does not expire later. As both patents share the same priority date for term calculation, this disclaimer does not shorten the patent's term.

Application and Family History

U.S. Patent 11,566,277 is a continuation of a long line of applications, indicating a sustained research and development effort. The patent's 20-year term is calculated from the earliest non-provisional application in its priority chain.

The lineage is as follows:

• This patent, US 11,566,277, issued from Application No. 17/671,803, filed on February 15, 2022.
• It is a continuation of Application No. 16/797,015 (now US Patent 11,293,061).
• Which is a continuation of Application No. 15/951,349 (now US Patent 10,612,058).
• Which is a continuation of Application No. 14/419,053 (now US Patent 9,957,557).
• Which was the U.S. national stage of international application PCT/US2014/018580, filed on February 26, 2014.
• The '580 PCT application was a continuation-in-part of international application PCT/US2012/071398, filed on December 21, 2012.

The earliest non-provisional filing date from which the patent claims benefit is the December 21, 2012 filing date of PCT/US2012/071398. This date serves as the starting point for calculating the patent's 20-year term.

Projected Expiration Date

The expiration date of U.S. Patent 11,566,277 is calculated as follows:

Calculation Component	Date/Days
Earliest Effective Filing Date:	December 21, 2012
Add 20-Year Statutory Term:	+ 20 years
Base Expiration Date:	December 21, 2032
Add Patent Term Adjustment (PTA):	+ 0 days
Add Patent Term Extension (PTE):	+ 0 days
Projected Expiration Date:	December 21, 2032

Barring any changes due to terminal disclaimers tied to maintenance fee payments on parent patents, the patent is projected to expire on December 21, 2032.