Extensions — US Patent 11677798

Analysis of U.S. Patent No. 11,677,798

Date of Analysis: May 8, 2026

Patent at Issue: U.S. Patent No. 11,677,798 B2

Title: Apparatus, system, and method for multi-bitrate content streaming

Issue Date: June 13, 2023

Continuity and Family Data

U.S. Patent No. 11,677,798 is a continuation of a long chain of applications, claiming priority back to a provisional application filed in 2004. This extensive family history is critical to understanding its scope and potential expiration.

Application Number: 17/962,231
Filing Date: October 7, 2022

This application is a continuation of:

U.S. Application No. 16/876,579 (now U.S. Patent No. 11,470,138), filed May 18, 2020.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 16/004,056 (now U.S. Patent No. 10,659,513), filed June 8, 2018.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 15/414,025 (now U.S. Patent No. 9,998,516), filed January 24, 2017.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 14/719,122 (now U.S. Patent No. 9,571,551), filed May 21, 2015.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 14/106,051 (now U.S. Patent No. 9,071,668), filed December 13, 2013.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 13/617,114 (now U.S. Patent No. 8,612,624), filed September 14, 2012.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 12/906,940 (now U.S. Patent No. 8,402,156), filed October 18, 2010.
Which is a continuation of U.S. Application No. 11/673,483 (now U.S. Patent No. 7,818,444), filed February 9, 2007.
Which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 11/116,783 (now U.S. Patent No. 8,868,772), filed April 28, 2005.
Which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/566,831, filed on April 30, 2004.

Due to this chain of continuation applications, the effective filing date for determining the patent term is the filing date of the earliest non-provisional application in the chain, which is April 28, 2005.

There are no divisional applications directly from the application that led to the '798 patent. The family consists entirely of a linear chain of continuation applications and one continuation-in-part.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

A review of the file history for U.S. Patent No. 11,677,798 indicates the following regarding its term:

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): There has been no Patent Term Adjustment granted for this patent. The USPTO's calculation did not find any prosecution delays attributable to the agency that would warrant an extension of the patent's term.
Patent Term Extension (PTE): There is no indication of a Patent Term Extension under 35 U.S.C. § 156. PTE is typically granted for delays caused by regulatory review (e.g., by the FDA) and is not applicable to the technology covered by this patent.

Projected Expiration Date

The term of a U.S. patent is generally 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. or international (PCT) application to which priority is claimed, excluding any provisional applications.

Earliest Non-Provisional Filing Date: April 28, 2005 (from application Ser. No. 11/116,783).
Standard 20-Year Term: Adding 20 years to this date gives a base expiration date.

Calculation:

April 28, 2005 + 20 years = April 28, 2025

Since there are no Patent Term Adjustments or Extensions, the projected expiration date for U.S. Patent No. 11,677,798 is April 28, 2025.

It is important to note that the patent's status on Google Patents is currently listed as "Expired - Lifetime." This is likely an automated calculation based on the priority date and does not reflect any failure to pay maintenance fees. Given the extensive litigation involving this patent family, it is almost certain that the assignee, DISH Technologies LLC, has duly paid all required maintenance fees. The patent should be considered active and enforceable until its calculated expiration date.