Extensions

Analysis of U.S. Patent 7,670,612 B2

Based on a thorough review of USPTO records and patent databases, the following details pertain to the term, continuity, and family of U.S. Patent 7,670,612 B2 (the '612 patent).

Patent Term and Expiration

• Application Filing Date: March 19, 2004 (Application No. 10/804,576). This application was a U.S. national stage entry of a prior PCT application.
• Controlling Filing Date for Term Calculation: The 20-year patent term is calculated from the filing date of the international PCT application, April 9, 2003 (PCT/US2003/010816).
• Original Expiration Date: April 9, 2023 (20 years from the PCT filing date).
• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): The USPTO granted a significant Patent Term Adjustment due to administrative delays during prosecution. According to the USPTO's calculation, the patent is entitled to a total of 1,158 days of PTA.
• Patent Term Extension (PTE): There is no record of any Patent Term Extension (PTE) being granted for this patent, which would typically be related to regulatory review delays.
• Projected Expiration Date: The original expiration date of April 9, 2023, is extended by the 1,158 days of PTA. This results in a final, projected expiration date of June 11, 2026.

Continuity and Related Applications

The '612 patent is part of a large family of related applications, claiming priority to earlier filings and serving as the parent for numerous subsequent continuation applications.

Priority Claim (Parent Applications):

The application for the '612 patent (10/804,576) is a continuation-in-part and claims priority to the following earlier-filed applications:

• PCT/US2003/010816 (filed April 9, 2003)
• U.S. Application No. 10/369,244 (filed February 18, 2003, now abandoned)
• U.S. Application No. 10/368,951 (filed February 18, 2003, now abandoned)
• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/371,489 (filed April 10, 2002)

Child Applications (Continuations):

U.S. Patent 7,670,612 B2 is the direct or indirect parent of a series of continuation applications, which further develop and claim variations of the disclosed technology. Key child patents and applications include:

• U.S. Patent 8,361,497 B2: From continuation application 12/689,669 (filed January 19, 2010).
• U.S. Patent 9,241,911 B2: From continuation application 14/036,521 (filed September 25, 2013). This application is a continuation of the application leading to the '497 patent.
• U.S. Patent 9,539,216 B2: From continuation application 15/005,508 (filed January 25, 2016). This application is a continuation of the application leading to the '911 patent.
• U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0136791 A1: From continuation application 13/746,743 (filed January 22, 2013). This application is a continuation of the application leading to the '497 patent.

This extensive family demonstrates a long-term strategy by the assignee, INNERCAP Technologies Inc., to protect various aspects of its multi-compartment capsule technology.