Extensions

Analysis of Term, Continuation, and Family Data for US Patent 6,098,106

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

Based on the filing date of US Patent 6,098,106 (September 11, 1998) and its issue date (August 1, 2000), there are no Patent Term Adjustments (PTA). The provisions for PTA were established for patents filed on or after May 29, 2000, to compensate for delays in processing by the USPTO. Since this patent's application was filed before this date, it is not eligible for PTA.

Similarly, there is no indication of any Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156. PTE is typically granted for patents related to products that undergo a lengthy pre-market regulatory review, such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices. The subject matter of this patent—a method for computer control via an audio signal—does not fall into a category eligible for such an extension.

Projected Expiration Date

The term for a US utility patent filed after June 8, 1995, is 20 years from the earliest non-provisional application filing date. The application for US Patent 6,098,106 (application number US09/151,530) was filed on September 11, 1998.

• Filing Date: September 11, 1998
• Patent Term: + 20 years
• Calculated Expiration Date: September 11, 2018

The authoritative patent text confirms this calculation with a legal event status of "Anticipated expiration" on "2018-09-11". As there are no term adjustments or extensions, the patent expired on September 11, 2018.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

The application that matured into US Patent 6,098,106 (US09/151,530) served as a parent to a vast number of subsequent applications. A continuation is an application for an invention disclosed in an earlier application, and a divisional application is one that is "carved out" of a parent application, typically when the parent contains more than one distinct invention.

The provided patent text lists numerous applications that claim priority to the US09/151,530 application. While the text does not explicitly label them as "continuations" or "divisionals," this priority claim establishes them as closely related, subsequent filings. The list is extensive, indicating a significant "patent thicket" built upon the original invention.

Examples from the provided text include:

• Priority to US09/378,222 (filed 1999-08-19), which issued as US Patent 6,970,914
• Priority to US09/378,217 (filed 1999-08-19), which issued as US Patent 7,043,536
• Priority to US09/382,427 (filed 1999-08-24), which issued as US Patent 6,829,650

This pattern continues through dozens of applications filed in 1999 and 2000, all claiming priority to the original 1998 application for the '106 patent.

Related Family Members

The patent family for US 6,098,106 is exceptionally large, as evidenced by the "Priority to" section in the provided patent text. This patent is part of a large portfolio of intellectual property originating from the same inventive concept. The family includes not only the numerous US patents that claim priority to it but also international applications.

Key international family members listed in the provided text include:

• PCT Application: PCT/US1999/020963 (filed 1999-09-09), which published as WO2000016205A1.
• European Application: EP99969160A (filed 1999-09-09).
• Chinese Application: CN99800606A (filed 1999-09-09).
• Japanese Application: JP55720099A (filed 1999-09-09).
• Australian Application: AU60362/99A (filed 1999-09-09).

The extensive list of related US applications and international filings demonstrates a deliberate and broad strategy to protect the invention in multiple jurisdictions and to cover numerous variations and improvements on the core method. All these related patents and applications form the extended family of US Patent 6,098,106.