Extensions

Analysis of Patent Term, Related Applications, and Expiration for US Patent 9,107,000

This analysis details the term adjustments, application history, and expiration status of U.S. Patent No. 9,107,000, titled "Wireless digital audio music system." As of the current date, May 13, 2026, this patent has expired due to failure to pay maintenance fees.

Patent Term and Expiration

• Projected Expiration Date: The patent's term was projected to end on May 23, 2022. The standard term for a U.S. patent is 20 years from the earliest non-provisional application filing date to which it claims priority. In this case, the earliest priority date is December 21, 2001, from application Ser. No. 10/027,391. This would lead to a nominal expiration date of December 21, 2021. However, the patent data indicates an "Adjusted expiration" of May 23, 2022, suggesting a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) was granted.
• Current Legal Status: The patent is listed as "Expired - Fee Related" as of September 18, 2023. A "Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees" is recorded, meaning the patent holder did not pay the required fees to keep the patent in force, leading to its premature expiration.

There is no indication of any Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156, which is typically granted for delays in regulatory review for products like pharmaceuticals and is not applicable here.

Application and Family History

U.S. Patent 9,107,000 is part of a long chain of continuation applications, which allows an applicant to file a new application based on a prior-filed "parent" application. This strategy is often used to pursue different sets of claims based on the original disclosure.

• Filing Date: The application that matured into this patent (Ser. No. 13/356,949) was filed on January 24, 2012.
• Grant Date: The patent was granted on August 11, 2015.

Continuation and Priority Chain:

The patent is a continuation of a series of applications, with the earliest priority claimed from an application filed in 2001. The term of the patent is calculated from this earliest date, not the filing date of the immediate application.

The direct lineage as stated in the patent's "Description" is as follows:

1. U.S. Patent 9,107,000 (Application No. 13/356,949, filed Jan. 24, 2012)
2. Is a continuation of Application No. 12/940,747 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,131,391)
3. Which is a continuation of Application No. 12/570,343 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,865,258)
4. Which is a continuation of Application No. 12/144,729 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,684,885)
5. Which is a continuation of Application No. 10/648,012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,294)
6. Which is a continuation-in-part of Application No. 10/027,391, filed December 21, 2001 (now abandoned).

• Divisional Applications: There is no mention of any divisional applications related to US Patent 9,107,000 in the provided documentation.

Related Family Members:

This patent is part of a large family of U.S. patents that all claim priority back to the original 2001 application. Notable members of this patent family include:

• U.S. Pat. No. 7,412,294
• U.S. Pat. No. 7,684,885
• U.S. Pat. No. 7,865,258
• U.S. Pat. No. 8,131,391
• U.S. Pat. No. 9,282,396
• U.S. Pat. No. 10,129,627
• U.S. Pat. No. 10,468,047

All patents in this family share the same 20-year term, calculated from the December 21, 2001 priority date, plus any applicable term adjustments.