Extensions

Analysis of Patent Term, Adjustments, and Family for U.S. Patent 5,742,768

Based on a thorough review of the USPTO's public records for U.S. Patent 5,742,768, the following is a detailed analysis of the patent's term, any applicable adjustments or extensions, and its relationship to other patent applications.

Patent Term and Expiration Date

U.S. Patent 5,742,768 was filed on July 16, 1996, and issued on April 21, 1998. As the application was filed before the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, the provisions for Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) due to USPTO processing delays do not apply.

Under the patent laws in effect at the time (following the Uruguay Round Agreements Act), the term of the patent is 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. For this patent, the filing date is July 16, 1996.

• Filing Date: July 16, 1996
• 20-Year Term from Filing: July 16, 2016
• Projected Expiration Date: July 16, 2016

The USPTO's public records confirm that the patent's status is "Expired - Lifetime." This indicates that the patent reached the end of its statutory term and is no longer in force.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 laws creating PTA for USPTO delays apply to applications filed on or after May 29, 2000, and thus do not affect this 1996 application.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): There is no indication in the file wrapper of any request for or grant of a Patent Term Extension under 35 U.S.C. § 156. Such extensions are typically granted to compensate for regulatory review delays (e.g., by the FDA) and are not applicable to the technology covered by this patent.

Continuity and Family Data

A review of the continuity data for Application No. 08/680,836, which matured into patent 5,742,768, shows the following:

• Continuation Applications: There are no continuation or continuation-in-part applications that claim priority to this application.
• Divisional Applications: There are no divisional applications that claim priority to this application.
• Parent Applications: This application does not claim priority to any earlier-filed U.S. or foreign applications. It is a standalone, non-provisional application.

The patent is a single-member family. There are no other U.S. patents or published applications that share a priority claim with U.S. Patent 5,742,768.

Summary Table

Category	Details
Application Number	08/680,836
Filing Date	July 16, 1996
Issue Date	April 21, 1998
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA)	0 days
Patent Term Extension (PTE)	0 days
Projected Expiration Date	July 16, 2016
Legal Status	Expired - Lifetime
Continuity	None (No parent or child applications)
Patent Family	Single-member family