Extensions

Term, Adjustment, and Continuity Analysis for U.S. Patent No. 6,164,534

Based on a detailed review of the prosecution history and bibliographic data for U.S. Patent No. 6,164,534, the following information has been compiled regarding its term, related applications, and legal status as of April 29, 2026.

1. Patent Term and Expiration

• Governing Law: The patent term is governed by the law established by the 1994 Uruguay Round Agreements Act, which sets the term at 20 years from the filing date of the earliest U.S. application to which priority is claimed.
• Earliest Priority Date: The application for patent 6,164,534 was filed on May 20, 1999. However, it is a continuation of application U.S. Ser. No. 08/618,246, which was filed on April 4, 1996. This earlier date is the controlling date for calculating the patent's term.
• Calculated Expiration Date: The 20-year term calculated from the earliest priority date of April 4, 1996, results in a projected expiration date of April 4, 2016.
• Official Status: Public records confirm the patent's status is "Expired - Lifetime," consistent with this calculation.

2. Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): PTA is granted to compensate for certain prosecution delays caused by the USPTO. The provisions for PTA generally apply to applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. Since the application for this patent (U.S. Ser. No. 09/315,478) was filed on May 20, 1999, it falls outside the primary window for these specific PTA rules. No Patent Term Adjustment has been recorded for this patent.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): PTE is typically granted for delays associated with regulatory review by agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is not applicable to the subject matter of this patent. No Patent Term Extension was filed or granted.

3. Continuity and Related Applications

The '534 patent is part of a larger family of related patents and applications stemming from the original 1996 disclosure.

• Continuation Application: As stated on its face, U.S. Patent No. 6,164,534 (filed via application Ser. No. 09/315,478) is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/628,246 (filed April 4, 1996), which issued as U.S. Patent No. 5,932,863.
• Divisional Applications: No divisional applications have been identified as stemming directly from the application that led to the '534 patent.
• Related Family Members: The '534 patent is a member of a significant patent family (Family ID: 24518096), with numerous subsequent applications claiming priority back to the original filings. Notable issued patents in this family include:
  • US 5,932,863: The parent patent from which the '534 patent is a continuation.
  • US 6,827,259: A continuation of the '534 patent.
  • US 7,232,057: A continuation of US 6,827,259.
  • US 7,600,691: A continuation of US 7,232,057.

This family demonstrates a strategy of filing a chain of continuation applications to pursue different claim sets and maintain pendency over a long period.