Extensions

Term, Expiration, and Family Analysis for US Patent 5,490,216

This section details the patent term, projected expiration, and related application history for US patent 5,490,216.

Patent Term Calculation and Expiration

Projected Expiration Date: September 21, 2013
Actual Status: Expired

The patent's term is governed by pre-URAA (Uruguay Round Agreements Act) law because it was filed before June 8, 1995. Under these rules, the term is the later of 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the filing date.

• Filing Date: September 21, 1993
• Issue Date: February 6, 1996

1. 17-Year Term from Issue Date: February 6, 1996 + 17 years = February 6, 2013
2. 20-Year Term from Filing Date: September 21, 1993 + 20 years = September 21, 2013

The later of these two dates is September 21, 2013. Therefore, the patent expired on this date, assuming all maintenance fees were paid. The legal status is "Expired - Lifetime," confirming it is no longer in force.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): There are zero days of PTA for this patent. The provisions for PTA were established by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and apply to applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. As this patent was filed in 1993, it is not eligible for PTA.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): There are zero days of PTE for this patent. PTE is granted to compensate for delays due to pre-market regulatory review, typically by agencies like the FDA for medical products. As a software patent, US 5,490,216 was not subject to such regulatory delays and is therefore ineligible for PTE.

Continuity and Related Family Members

A thorough review of USPTO records and public databases for application US 08/124,718 (which issued as US 5,490,216) reveals the following:

• Continuation/Divisional Applications: There are no recorded continuation or divisional applications that claim priority to this patent application in the United States. The patent does not appear to be part of a larger family of US patents developed through continuing prosecution.
• Patent Family: Public records indicate that US 5,490,216 stands alone and does not have any direct foreign counterparts or other US family members sharing its priority claim. While the company founder was Australian and developed the technology in 1992, the US application filed in 1993 does not claim priority to a foreign application in a way that would create a direct patent family under that priority date.