Extensions

To provide a detailed analysis of patent term adjustments (PTA), patent term extensions (PTE), continuation/divisional applications, related family members, and the projected expiration date for US Patent 9542571, direct access to the USPTO's Patent Center or Public Search with full file history review would be ideal. As I cannot directly perform a live, interactive search and interpret the PTA/PTE certificates, I will extract information from the provided patent text and general USPTO guidance on these topics.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) compensates patentees for certain administrative delays by the USPTO during the prosecution of a patent application. These delays generally fall into three categories: "A" delay (USPTO failure to issue a first Office action within 14 months of filing), "B" delay (USPTO failure to respond to an applicant's reply or appeal within four months, or issue a patent within four months of the issue fee payment), and "C" delay (delays due to interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals). PTA provisions apply to utility and plant patent applications filed on or after May 29, 2000. Applicant delays can reduce any awarded PTA.

The provided patent text for US9542571B2 does not explicitly state any Patent Term Adjustment awarded. To determine the exact PTA, one would need to review the "Issue Notification" in the patent's file wrapper on USPTO Patent Center. However, the Google Patents information for US9542571B2 does not list any PTA.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extension (PTE) is available under 35 U.S.C. § 156 for patents claiming products that require regulatory approval prior to commercial marketing or use, such as human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products. PTE aims to restore some of the patent term lost while awaiting premarket government approval from regulatory agencies like the FDA. The extension is limited to a maximum of five years, and the total patent life with a PTE cannot exceed 14 years from the date of marketing approval.

Based on the subject matter of US Patent 9542571, which is "System and method of owner application control of electronic devices," it is highly unlikely that this patent would be eligible for a Patent Term Extension under 35 U.S.C. § 156, as it does not appear to claim a product requiring pre-market regulatory approval. The patent text does not mention any PTE.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

• Continuation Applications: A continuation application is a follow-up patent application that claims priority to an earlier "parent" application and generally duplicates the parent's subject matter coverage, inheriting its priority date.
• Divisional Applications: A divisional application is a type of continuing application that results from a USPTO Restriction Requirement, where the USPTO determines the parent application is pursuing more than one invention.

US Patent 9542571 is explicitly identified in its "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" section as a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/618,311, filed Sep. 14, 2012 (which later issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,988). This indicates that US9542571 carries forward some of the same subject matter from the 13/618,311 application. The patent also states it is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/606,814, filed Sep. 7, 2012 (which later issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,185). A continuation-in-part introduces new subject matter while retaining claims to subject matter common to the parent application.

Related Family Members

The patent text for US9542571B2 outlines a complex family tree in its "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS" section:

• Parent Applications:
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/618,311, filed Sep. 14, 2012 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,988 on Nov. 18, 2014).
  • U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/606,814, filed Sep. 7, 2012 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,185 on Oct. 30, 2012).
• Grandparent Applications (through 13/618,311):
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,815,100, issued on Oct. 19, 2010.
  • U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/567,163, filed Apr. 30, 2004 (priority document).
• Grandparent Applications (through 13/606,814):
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,355, issued on Sep. 7, 2010.
  • U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/432,610, filed Dec. 12, 2002 (priority document).

The priority date of US9542571B2 is listed as December 12, 2002, which corresponds to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/432,610.

Projected Expiration Date

For utility patents filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term generally expires 20 years from the earliest filing date of the patent application, or if the application claims priority to an earlier application under 35 U.S.C. §§ 120, 121, or 365(c), then 20 years from the filing date of the earliest such application.

The earliest priority date for US9542571B2 is December 12, 2002 (from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/432,610).

Therefore, without any Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) or Patent Term Extension (PTE), the statutory expiration date would be 20 years from December 12, 2002.

Statutory Expiration Date (without adjustments/extensions): December 12, 2002 + 20 years = December 12, 2022.

However, the Google Patents information for US9542571B2 lists the "Anticipated expiration" as 2023-12-10 and the "Legal status" as "Expired - Fee Related". This discrepancy suggests that either there was a small amount of PTA awarded (approximately 1 year) or the "anticipated expiration" on Google Patents is calculated based on a slightly different "earliest filing date" interpretation. Given the "Expired - Fee Related" status, the patent has already ceased to be enforceable. The patent's actual expiration date, considering the fee-related expiration, would be 2023-12-10.