Extensions

US Patent 8,116,749: Patent Term, Continuations, Divisionals, and Family Members

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE)

US Patent 8,116,749 has an "Active" legal status, expiring on May 21, 2029. [cite: The full patent text] This expiration date already reflects any Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) that may have been granted. PTA extends the term of a U.S. patent to compensate for certain delays by the USPTO during the prosecution of a utility patent application. Delays by the USPTO can include not issuing a first office action within 14 months, not responding to an applicant's reply within four months, or not issuing a patent within three years of the filing date. Applicant delays can reduce any awarded PTA.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156 are typically granted for patents on specific products (e.g., human drugs, medical devices) to restore time lost during regulatory review by agencies like the FDA. There is no indication that US Patent 8,116,749, relating to wireless communication protocols, is eligible for or has received a Patent Term Extension.

Continuation Applications, Divisional Applications, and Related Family Members

A U.S. utility patent generally expires 20 years from its earliest filing date. If a patent claims priority to an earlier application, the 20-year term is calculated from the filing date of that earliest application. Continuation applications, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part (CIP) applications are types of "continuing applications" that share the same priority date and specification (or substantially the same in the case of CIPs) as a parent application.

• Continuation applications pursue additional claims to an invention disclosed in the parent application.
• Divisional applications are filed when the parent application contains claims to more than one distinct invention, often in response to a restriction requirement from the examiner.
• Continuation-in-part (CIP) applications include substantially the same specification as the parent but introduce additional subject matter.

US Patent 8,116,749 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/095,001, filed on September 8, 2008, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/095,359, filed on September 9, 2008. The main application, US12/364,938, was filed on February 3, 2009. [cite: The full patent text] This indicates that these provisional applications are the earliest priority documents.

The Google Patents "Other versions" section for US8116749B2 lists US20100062746A1. [cite: The full patent text] This is the patent's own pre-grant publication.

To identify other continuation, divisional, or related family members that may have issued or are pending, a detailed search of the USPTO's Patent Center using the application number US12/364,938 (and its associated provisional applications) would be necessary to establish the full "patent family." A patent family is a set of interrelated patent applications or patents covering the same invention.

Projected Expiration Date

The patent's "Priority date" is listed as September 8, 2008, and the Google Patents "Legal status" indicates an adjusted expiration date of May 21, 2029. [cite: The full patent text]

Assuming the patent term is 20 years from the earliest priority date, and accounting for any PTA, the calculation would be:
September 8, 2008 (earliest priority date) + 20 years = September 8, 2028.

However, the Google Patents listing explicitly states an adjusted expiration date of May 21, 2029. [cite: The full patent text] This indicates that Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) was applied to extend the patent term beyond the standard 20 years from the earliest priority date. The specific calculation of PTA is complex and accounts for various delays by the USPTO during prosecution, offset by any applicant delays.

Therefore, the projected expiration date for US Patent 8,116,749, including any Patent Term Adjustments, is May 21, 2029. [cite: The full patent text]