Extensions

Term, Application History, and Family of U.S. Patent 5,243,655

Date of Analysis: April 29, 2026

This section details the prosecution history, term adjustments, and related patents for U.S. Patent No. 5,243,655 ("the '655 patent").

Patent Term and Expiration

• Filing Date: March 16, 1992
• Issue Date: September 7, 1993
• Governing Law: Pre-URAA (Uruguay Round Agreements Act). Patents filed before June 8, 1995, have a term that is the longer of 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the earliest non-provisional application filing date.
• Term Calculation:
  • 17 years from the issue date: September 7, 1993 + 17 years = September 7, 2010.
  • 20 years from the filing date: March 16, 1992 + 20 years = March 16, 2012.
• Patent Term Adjustments (PTA/PTE): The provisions for Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) to compensate for USPTO delays were established by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and generally apply to applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. As the '655 patent was filed in 1992, it is not eligible for PTA under this statute. There is no record of any Patent Term Extension (PTE), which is typically granted for delays in regulatory review for products like pharmaceuticals and not applicable to this technology.
• Projected Expiration Date: Based on the governing law, the longer of the two calculated terms applies. Therefore, the patent expired on March 16, 2012.

Continuity and Application History

The '655 patent is a continuation-in-part of two earlier applications, giving it a priority chain that is important for understanding its effective filing date for prior art purposes.

• Application Number: 07/851,505 (Filed: March 16, 1992)

• Parent Applications (Continuation-in-Part):

  • This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Serial No. 07/653,822, filed on February 11, 1991 (now U.S. Patent 5,113,445).
  • The '822 application is itself a continuation of U.S. Application Serial No. 07/550,023, filed on July 9, 1990 (now abandoned).
  • This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Serial No. 07/461,881, filed on January 5, 1990 (now U.S. Patent 5,304,786).

• Divisional Applications: There is no record of any divisional applications filed from the '655 patent application.

Patent Family

The '655 patent is part of a larger family of patents filed internationally, claiming priority from its U.S. application. This indicates a strategy by the original assignee, Symbol Technologies, to seek broad protection for this technology.

• Priority Application: U.S. Application No. 07/851,505 (Filed March 16, 1992)
• Known Foreign Family Members:
  • European Patent: EP0565738A1
  • Israeli Patent: IL104209A
  • South African Patent: ZA93242B
  • Brazilian Patent: BR9300173A

This family relationship means that the core invention was disclosed and protected in multiple key markets, with the earliest priority date being January 5, 1990, based on the '881 application.