Extensions

Term, Continuation, and Family Member Analysis for U.S. Patent No. 12,015,376

Date of Analysis: May 13, 2026

Here is a detailed analysis of the patent term, continuation history, and family members for U.S. Patent No. 12,015,376, titled "Lead assembly for connecting solar panel arrays to inverter."

Key Dates:

• Application Number: 18/523,464
• Filing Date: November 29, 2023
• Issue Date: June 18, 2024
• Inventor: Dean Solon
• Assignee: Shoals Technologies Group, LLC

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Patent Term and Expiration

• Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) / Patent Term Extensions (PTE): A detailed review of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) records for this patent does not indicate any Patent Term Adjustments or Extensions have been granted. The prosecution period from filing to issuance was relatively swift, at under seven months, which is well within the statutory timeframes where PTA typically accrues due to USPTO delays.

• Projected Expiration Date: Barring any future disclaimers or other events affecting its term, U.S. Patent No. 12,015,376 is projected to expire on September 9, 2035. This date is calculated 20 years from the earliest non-provisional priority date of September 9, 2015, which is claimed through its chain of continuation applications.

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Application History and Related Family Members

U.S. Patent No. 12,015,376 is part of a large and active family of patents descending from a provisional application filed in 2014. It is a continuation of a series of prior applications, establishing a long history of prosecution and development of the claimed technology.

Continuity Chain (Parent Applications):

This patent is a continuation of the following applications:

• Continuation of: U.S. Patent Application No. 18/341,655 (now U.S. Patent No. 12,015,375), filed on June 26, 2023.
• Which is a continuation of: U.S. Patent Application No. 17/301,609 (now U.S. Patent No. 11,689,153), filed on April 8, 2021.
• Which is a continuation of: U.S. Patent Application No. 14/849,458 (now U.S. Patent No. 10,992,254), filed on September 9, 2015.

Priority Claim:

The patent claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/047,773, filed on September 9, 2014. This early priority date is crucial for determining the patent's term and for assessing prior art.

Continuation and Divisional Applications (Child Applications):

Since the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 12,015,376, the assignee, Shoals Technologies Group, LLC, has continued to file related applications, indicating an ongoing strategy to protect innovations in this area.

Known subsequent applications include:

• U.S. Patent No. 12,407,295: Filed on March 21, 2025, and issued on September 2, 2025.
• U.S. Patent No. 12,519,421: Filed on March 13, 2025, and issued on January 6, 2026.

This pattern of filing continuation applications allows the assignee to pursue claims of varying scope and to cover different embodiments of the "Big Lead Assembly" (BLA) technology. This strategy is common for protecting core technologies and is a key factor in the ongoing litigation landscape surrounding this patent family.