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Patent Term and Application Details for US Patent 5,708,678

Based on a review of USPTO records and the patent documentation as of May 11, 2026, here are the key details regarding the term and application history of US Patent 5,708,678.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): There are no Patent Term Adjustments for US Patent 5,708,678. The provisions for PTA were established by the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and generally apply to applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. Since this patent was filed in 1996, it falls under the pre-GATT regime where the patent term was calculated differently and was not eligible for PTA.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): There are no Patent Term Extensions for this patent. PTE is typically granted to compensate for delays in regulatory review (e.g., by the FDA) for products such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices and is not applicable to this furnace technology.

Continuity and Application History

• Continuation or Divisional Applications: US Patent 5,708,678 is not a continuation or divisional application of any prior US application. A review of the patent's file history shows no parent continuity data.
• Child Applications: There is no record of any continuation or divisional applications being filed that claim priority to US Patent 5,708,678.
• Application Details: The patent was granted from US application number 08/711,900, filed on September 12, 1996.

Patent Family and Priority

The US application claims priority to an earlier application filed in Italy. This establishes a patent family, with members in various international jurisdictions.

• Priority Application: IT1995UD00175 (also cited as IT95UD000175A), filed on September 13, 1995.
• Key Patent Family Members:
  • EP0767353A1 / B1: European Patent
  • AU713878B2: Australian Patent
  • BR9604239A: Brazilian Application
  • CA2183724A1: Canadian Application
  • DE69617356T2: German Patent (validation of EP patent)
  • IT1281420B1: Italian Patent

Expiration Date

• Calculated Term: Based on the standard 20-year term from its filing date of September 12, 1996, the patent was projected to expire on September 12, 2016.
• Actual Status: The patent expired prematurely due to the non-payment of required maintenance fees. According to USPTO records, the official legal status is "Expired - Fee Related."
  • The "Legal Events" section of the patent's record indicates a "Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees" with an effective date of January 13, 2006. Therefore, the patent has been unenforceable since that date.