Extensions

For US patent 8646001, here's a detailed breakdown of its patent term and family information:

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) can extend the term of a patent to compensate for certain delays caused by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) during prosecution. These provisions apply to utility or plant applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. Common reasons for PTA include the USPTO failing to:

• Issue a first Office Action or notice of allowance within 14 months of filing.
• Act within four months of an applicant's response to an Office Action.
• Issue the patent within four months of payment of the issue fee.
• Issue the patent within three years of the actual filing date of the application.

The patent application for US8646001 was filed on May 19, 1995. Since the patent was filed prior to May 29, 2000, it is not eligible for Patent Term Adjustment under the provisions that add time for USPTO delays.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extensions (PTE) are available under the Hatch-Waxman Act (35 U.S.C. § 156) for patents claiming certain human drugs, medical devices, animal drugs, veterinary biological products, and food or color additive products. This aims to restore some of the patent term lost due to delays in obtaining regulatory approval from agencies like the FDA.

There is no information within the patent document or the provided search results to suggest that US patent 8646001 is for a product subject to regulatory review by the FDA or a similar agency. Therefore, it is highly unlikely to have received any Patent Term Extensions.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

• Continuation Application: A continuation patent application allows an applicant to pursue claims based on the same specification and drawings as a previously filed "parent" application. It is a new application with new claims but shares the same priority date as the parent.
• Divisional Application: A divisional patent application presents claims that were previously filed with the parent application but were required by the USPTO to be withdrawn or canceled due to a restriction requirement.

The provided information does not explicitly state any continuation or divisional applications directly linked to US patent 8646001. However, the patent claims priority from US06/317,510, filed on November 3, 1981, and mentions US Pat. No. 4,694,490 to Harvey et al. as a prior art document from which it claims priority. This indicates that US8646001 is part of a patent family, but the specific type of application (continuation, divisional, or continuation-in-part) is not detailed in the provided snippets. [cite: The full patent text, Prior art: "1981-11-03 Priority claimed from US06/317,510"]

Related Family Members

The patent explicitly states it claims priority from US06/317,510, filed on November 3, 1981, and cites US4694490A. This indicates that US8646001 is part of a larger patent family, with US4694490A being an earlier related patent. A patent family is a collection of patent documents that cover the same invention and have at least one common inventor. While a comprehensive list of all family members (including international filings) would require a dedicated patent family search tool, the provided information confirms at least one earlier related application. [cite: The full patent text, Prior art: "1981-11-03 Priority claimed from US06/317,510", "patent/US4694490A/en"]

Projected Expiration Date

For US utility patents filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term typically expires 20 years from the earliest filing date of the patent application, including any priority claims to earlier applications.

US patent 8646001 was filed on May 19, 1995, and claims priority from US06/317,510, filed on November 3, 1981. To determine the expiration date, the 20-year term is calculated from the filing date of the earliest related application. Therefore, the 20-year term would typically run from November 3, 1981.

However, the Google Patents page for US8646001 lists an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2031-02-04. This suggests that either:

1. The patent was filed under pre-GATT provisions, where patents issued before June 8, 1995, had a term of 17 years from the issue date or 20 years from the filing date, whichever was later. However, US8646001 was granted in 2014. [cite: 17, The full patent text, Publication date: "2014-02-04"]
2. There is a complex calculation involving other factors not immediately apparent from the provided text, such as a terminal disclaimer or other specific circumstances.
3. The patent, despite its filing date, falls under a provision that resulted in a longer term.

Given that the Google Patents page explicitly states the anticipated expiration as 2031-02-04, and the patent was granted on February 4, 2014, if the 20-year term from the earliest priority date (November 3, 1981) were strictly applied, the patent would have expired around November 3, 2001. The listed expiration date of 2031-02-04 is significantly later. It's also important to note that the current legal status is "Expired - Fee Related" as of the current date of 2026-06-03. This means that despite any calculated term, the patent is no longer in force due to unpaid maintenance fees. [cite: The full patent text, Legal status: "Expired - Fee Related", Legal status: "2031-02-04 Anticipated expiration"]