Extensions

To provide a comprehensive overview of US patent 12502870, I will detail its patent term adjustments (PTA), patent term extensions (PTE), continuation applications, divisional applications, related family members, and the projected expiration date.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is granted to compensate for certain delays caused by the USPTO during the prosecution of a patent application. This typically applies to utility and plant patents filed on or after May 29, 2000, and is added to the standard 20-year term from the filing date. The USPTO calculates PTA at the time the patent issues, and the calculation is included in the Issue Notification Letter.

For US patent 12502870, the filing date is March 15, 2024, and the publication date is December 23, 2025. The provided patent text does not explicitly state the amount of Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) granted. To find the exact PTA, one would typically consult the issue notification or the patent document itself via USPTO's Patent Center or Assignment Center. However, the legal events show several actions that occurred since the filing date:

• 2024-03-15: Application filed.
• 2024-03-29: Docketed new case - Ready for examination.
• 2024-12-18: Non-final action mailed.
• 2025-01-17: Non-final action mailed. (This appears to be a duplicate entry or a follow-up action very close in time to the previous one).
• 2025-07-24: Response after final action forwarded to examiner.
• 2025-07-25: Advisory action counted, not yet mailed.
• 2025-07-28: Advisory action mailed.
• 2025-08-01: Docketed new case - Ready for examination.
• 2025-09-29: Allowed -- Notice of Allowance not yet mailed; Notice of Allowance mailed -- Application received in Office of Publications.
• 2025-11-19: Publications -- Issue Fee Payment Received.
• 2025-11-25: Publications -- Issue Fee Payment Verified.
• 2025-12-10: Patented case.

Delays that could trigger PTA include the USPTO failing to issue a first Office Action within 14 months of filing, failing to respond to an applicant's reply within four months, or failing to issue the patent within three years of the actual filing date. Given the patent was filed on March 15, 2024, and issued on December 23, 2025, it was granted within the three-year timeframe from its filing date. However, the exact duration of each stage of prosecution and any applicant-caused delays would need to be reviewed to determine the precise PTA amount. The provided data does not contain the specific PTA calculation.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extensions (PTE) are distinct from PTA and are typically granted for patents on certain human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products to compensate for time lost during pre-market government regulatory review.

There is no indication in the patent text or related information that US12502870 relates to a product subject to regulatory review by agencies like the FDA. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that this patent would be eligible for Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

A continuation application allows an applicant to pursue additional claims to an invention disclosed in an earlier-filed "parent" application, while retaining the benefit of the parent's filing date. A divisional application is filed when an initial patent application claims two or more independent and distinct inventions, and the USPTO requires the applicant to restrict the claims to one invention. The other invention can then be pursued in a divisional application, also retaining the benefit of the original filing date.

The patent document for US12502870 (US12502870B2) states it is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/152,033, filed on Jan. 9, 2023, which itself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/190,723, filed on Nov. 14, 2018, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,571,878.

Therefore, the following related applications are identified:

• Parent Application: US18/152,033, filed January 9, 2023. This application is noted as a continuation of US16/190,723.
• Grandparent Application (original priority): US16/190,723, filed November 14, 2018, which issued as US Pat. No. 11,571,878.

Additionally, the "Priority Applications" section on Google Patents lists:

• US18/606,980 (which is US12502870B2 itself, the application number for this patent).
• US19/393,196, filed November 18, 2025, which is a "Division" of the original priority date 2018-11-14. This application is also published as US20260070313A1.

The "Family Applications" section provides a broader view:

• US16/190,723 (issued as US11571878B2), priority date 2018-11-14, filing date 2018-11-14.
• US18/152,033 (issued as US11969970B2), priority date 2018-11-14, filing date 2023-01-09. This is a continuation of US16/190,723.
• US18/326,866 (issued as US12030277B2), priority date 2018-11-14, filing date 2023-05-31. This is also a continuation of US16/190,723 or one of its continuations.
• US18/606,980 (US12502870B2), priority date 2018-11-14, filing date 2024-03-15. This is a continuation of US18/152,033.
• US19/393,196 (published as US20260070313A1), priority date 2018-11-14, filing date 2025-11-18. This is a divisional application.

Related Family Members

The patent family is ID=68424711. The family members include:

• US11571878B2: Filed 2018-11-14.
• US11969970B2: Filed 2023-01-09.
• US12030277B2: Filed 2023-05-31.
• US12502870B2: Filed 2024-03-15.
• US20260070313A1: Filed 2025-11-18.

International family members found in the "Country Status" section include:

• EP4220293B1
• ES2946279T3
• CN111399300B
• ES3056291T3
• EP4570494A3
• EP3654095B1
• CN116430633B

Projected Expiration Date

The general rule for utility patents in the U.S. is that the patent term is 20 years from the earliest filing date of the application from which priority is claimed, subject to any patent term adjustments or extensions.

For US12502870, the earliest priority date is November 14, 2018 (from US16/190,723).
The patent publication information states an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2038-11-14. This date is precisely 20 years from the earliest priority date (November 14, 2018). This suggests that, as of the information provided, there are no significant Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) or Patent Term Extensions (PTE) that have altered the term beyond the standard 20 years from the priority date. If PTA were applied, it would be added to this 20-year term. However, without the explicit PTA calculation from the USPTO, the anticipated expiration date provided by Google Patents (2038-11-14) is the current best estimate.