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Analysis of Patent Term and Related Applications for U.S. Patent No. 8,666,062

Washington, D.C. - An examination of the public record for U.S. Patent No. 8,666,062 ("the '062 patent") provides details regarding its term, related applications, and family members. This information is crucial for understanding the patent's effective lifespan and its relationship to other innovations by the inventor.

Patent Term and Expiration

The '062 patent, which was filed on April 11, 2008, claims priority to an earlier, non-provisional application (U.S. Serial No. 10/058,212) filed on January 29, 2002. Under U.S. patent law, the term of a patent is 20 years from the filing date of the earliest non-provisional application to which it claims priority. Therefore, the base term for the '062 patent would have expired on January 29, 2022.

However, the official records for the '062 patent indicate an "Adjusted expiration" date of October 14, 2025. This later date is the result of a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA). PTA is granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to compensate for certain administrative delays during the patent prosecution process. The significant adjustment granted to the '062 patent reflects a lengthy examination period. There is no indication of any Patent Term Extension (PTE), a separate mechanism typically related to regulatory review delays for products like pharmaceuticals. As of the current date of May 10, 2026, the patent has expired.

Application History: A Continuation

The '062 patent is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/058,212 (filed January 29, 2002), which subsequently issued as U.S. Patent No. 7,372,960. A continuation application is a new application that claims the benefit of the filing date of a prior, co-pending "parent" application. This allows an inventor to pursue different sets of claims based on the same original disclosure.

The parent application, in turn, claims priority from four provisional applications, all filed on December 31, 2001:

• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/343,226
• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/343,227
• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/343,220
• U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/334,223

No divisional applications related to the '062 patent are listed in its file history.

Patent Family

The patent family for US 8,666,062 includes its direct parent, US 7,372,960, as well as at least one foreign counterpart. The shared priority date of December 31, 2001, links these patents as stemming from the same initial invention. The known family members are:

• United States: U.S. Patent No. 7,372,960
• Canada: Canadian Patent No. CA2369537C