Extensions

Term, Continuity, and Family of US Patent 7,936,415

An analysis of the prosecution history and related filings for US Patent 7,936,415 reveals its term adjustment, application history, and international patent family.

Patent Term and Expiration

The expiration date of US Patent 7,936,415 is determined by its filing date and a significant Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) granted by the USPTO.

• Filing Date: The application, US11/996,256, was filed on August 8, 2007.
• Statutory Term: The standard 20-year patent term from the filing date would result in an expiration date of August 8, 2027.
• Patent Term Adjustment (PTA): The USPTO granted a PTA of 628 days. This adjustment compensates the patent holder for delays during the examination process caused by the patent office. Delays can include the time taken to issue a first office action or to issue the patent after the fees have been paid.
• Projected Expiration Date: The 628-day PTA is added to the statutory expiration date. Therefore, the final, adjusted expiration date for US Patent 7,936,415 is April 27, 2029.

No Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156 was granted or is applicable, as this mechanism is reserved for products that undergo pre-market regulatory review, such as pharmaceuticals.

Continuity and Application History

The application that matured into US Patent 7,936,415 does not have a history of continuation or divisional applications within the United States.

• Application Type: US application 11/996,256 is the U.S. national stage of international patent application PCT/KR2007/003806, filed on August 8, 2007.
• Continuations/Divisionals: An examination of the USPTO's continuity data shows no record of this patent being a continuation or divisional of a prior U.S. application, nor have any continuation or divisional applications been filed that claim priority to it.

Patent Family

This U.S. patent is part of a larger international patent family, with all members claiming priority to the original Korean patent application filed on August 24, 2006. This indicates a strategy by the original assignee, LG Innotek, to seek patent protection in multiple key markets.

• Priority Application:

  • KR 10-2006-0080215: Filed in the Republic of Korea on August 24, 2006.

• Family Members:

  • WO 2008/023893 A1: The international publication of the PCT application.
  • JP 5350242 B2: The corresponding patent granted in Japan.
  • KR 100844757 B1: The corresponding patent granted in the Republic of Korea.
  • TW I443804 B: The corresponding patent granted in Taiwan.