Extensions

US Patent 7,490,151, titled "Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request," was issued on February 10, 2009. The patent application was filed on September 30, 2002. [cite: Abstract, Filing date, Publication date]

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is granted to compensate applicants for delays caused by the USPTO during the prosecution of a utility or plant patent application. The calculation of PTA is complex and is typically provided by the USPTO in the Issue Notification Letter. Factors that influence PTA include delays in issuing office actions, responding to replies, issuing patents after fee payment, and the total pendency of the application exceeding three years, excluding applicant-caused delays.

While the Google Patents page for US7490151 notes its legal status as "Expired - Lifetime, expires 2022-01-24," this expiration date already reflects any granted Patent Term Adjustment, as the patent's term is generally 20 years from its earliest effective filing date, plus any PTA. The expiration date of January 24, 2022, implies that a PTA was calculated and applied, extending the term beyond the standard 20 years from the September 30, 2002, filing date (which would have been September 30, 2022). Specifically, an expiration date of January 24, 2022, for a patent filed on September 30, 2002, means there was a PTA of approximately 3 years and 4 months. However, the provided information does not explicitly state the details of any PTA calculation (e.g., A, B, or C delays, or applicant delays) for US7490151.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extension (PTE) is available under the Hatch-Waxman Act (35 U.S.C. § 156) for patents claiming products that require regulatory approval (e.g., human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, food additives, color additives, and medical devices) prior to being sold. PTE aims to restore a portion of the patent term lost during regulatory review.

There is no information in the provided patent text or search results to indicate that US7490151, which relates to secure communication links, was eligible for or received any Patent Term Extension (PTE). The nature of the invention (software/networking technology) does not typically fall under the categories of products requiring regulatory approval that would qualify for PTE.

Continuation Applications

A continuation application allows an applicant to pursue additional claims based on the same specification and drawings as a pending "parent" application. It is a new application with new claims but must contain the same patent illustrations and written description as the parent application.

The Google Patents page for US7490151 lists "Other versions" and "Priority to" sections that indicate related applications:

• US20030037142A1: This is a publication of the patent application corresponding to US7490151.
• US11/839,969 (priority to 2007-08-16, leading to US7933990B2).
• US11/924,460 (priority to 2007-10-25, leading to US20080222415A1).
• US13/075,081 (priority to 2011-03-29, leading to US20110185169A1).
• US13/093,785 (priority to 2011-04-25, leading to US8516117B2).
• US13/615,436 (priority to 2012-09-13, leading to US20130019091A1).
• US13/618,966 (priority to 2012-09-14, leading to US20130014228A1).
• US13/890,206 (priority to 2013-05-08, leading to US9860283B2).
• US15/858,238 (priority to 2017-12-29, leading to US20180109573A1).

These listed "priority to" applications suggest a chain of continuing applications (e.g., continuations or continuations-in-part) that claim the benefit of the filing date of US10/259,494 (the application for US7490151). [cite: Filing date]

Divisional Applications

A divisional application arises when the USPTO issues a restriction requirement, determining that a single application contains two or more independent and distinct inventions. The applicant can then pursue the non-elected inventions in one or more divisional applications, which maintain the priority date of the original application.

The provided information does not explicitly state whether any divisional applications were filed from the application for US7490151 (US10/259,494). However, the numerous continuation applications could potentially include applications that were initially treated as continuations but later identified as divisionals, or simply reflect new applications that derived from a common parent.

Related Family Members

The patent family members, including parent and child applications, are identified by the "Other versions" and "Priority to" sections on the Google Patents page.

• Parent Application: US10/259,494 (filed 2002-09-30), which led to US7490151B2. This application claims priority from US09/429,643 (priority date 1998-10-30), which is a key earlier family member. [cite: Priority date, Filing date]
• Published Application: US20030037142A1 (published 2003-02-20) is the published application for US7490151. [cite: Other versions]
• Child Applications/Related Patents:
  • US7933990B2 (from US11/839,969, filed 2007-08-16) [cite: Priority date]
  • US20080222415A1 (from US11/924,460, filed 2007-10-25) [cite: Priority date]
  • US20110185169A1 (from US13/075,081, filed 2011-03-29) [cite: Priority date]
  • US8516117B2 (from US13/093,785, filed 2011-04-25) [cite: Priority date]
  • US20130019091A1 (from US13/615,436, filed 2012-09-13) [cite: Priority date]
  • US20130014228A1 (from US13/618,966, filed 2012-09-14) [cite: Priority date]
  • US9860283B2 (from US13/890,206, filed 2013-05-08) [cite: Priority date]
  • US20180109573A1 (from US15/858,238, filed 2017-12-29) [cite: Priority date]

These applications indicate a comprehensive patent family stemming from the initial priority date of October 30, 1998.

Projected Expiration Date

The Google Patents page for US7490151 explicitly states the legal status as "Expired - Lifetime, expires 2022-01-24." [cite: Legal status] Therefore, the patent has already expired.

The standard patent term for applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, is 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. For US7490151, the earliest priority date is October 30, 1998. Twenty years from this date would be October 30, 2018. The stated expiration date of January 24, 2022, indicates that the patent received a Patent Term Adjustment of approximately 3 years and 2 months. [cite: 17, Priority date, Legal status]