Extensions

To provide a comprehensive overview of US Patent 9,786,510 regarding its term adjustments, extensions, and related applications, I will extract information from the authoritative patent document and USPTO resources.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA):
PTA is granted to compensate for delays caused by the USPTO during the prosecution of a patent application. It adds additional time to the standard 20-year patent term (from the earliest filing date) for utility or plant patents. These delays can be categorized as "A-delays" (USPTO failing to act within specific timeframes, e.g., issuing a first office action within 14 months), "B-delays" (patent not issuing within three years of filing), and "C-delays" (delays due to interferences, secrecy orders, or appeals). Any overlap between these delays and applicant-caused delays are subtracted.

The Google Patents record for US9786510 indicates an "Adjusted expiration" date of 2035-01-24. This suggests that PTA has been applied to this patent, as the expiration date is later than 20 years from its filing date of 2014-10-13 (which would typically be 2034-10-13). The specific calculation of PTA would be detailed in the Issue Notification Letter for the patent, which is issued by the USPTO.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE):
PTE is typically available for patents on certain human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products to restore time lost during premarket government approval from a regulatory agency.

Given the technical nature of US9786510, which relates to "fin-shaped structures and manufacturing methods thereof" for semiconductor devices, it is highly unlikely to be eligible for Patent Term Extension (PTE) under 35 U.S.C. § 156, as its subject matter does not fall within the categories of products requiring regulatory approval.

Continuation and Divisional Applications

• Continuation Applications: A continuation application allows an applicant to pursue additional claims based on an earlier-filed "parent" application, while retaining the benefit of the parent's filing date. It must be copending with the parent application (i.e., filed before the parent issues or is abandoned).
• Divisional Applications: A divisional application is filed when the USPTO determines that a patent application contains more than one invention (via a "restriction requirement"). The applicant can then pursue the non-elected inventions in separate divisional applications, also retaining the priority date of the original application.

US Patent 9,786,510 is identified as belonging to a "Family" with ID 55438222. The Google Patents information lists the following related applications:

• US15/688,885 (US10418251B2): This is listed as a "Priority" application with a filing date of 2017-08-29 and is also explicitly identified as a "Division" of US14/512,475 (the application for US9786510). Its title is "Method of forming fin-shaped structure having ladder-shaped cross-sectional profile".
• US16/532,477 (US10930517B2): This is also listed as a "Priority" application with a filing date of 2019-08-06. Its title is "Method of forming fin-shaped structure".

Based on this, US9786510 has at least one divisional application, US10418251B2, and another related family member, US10930517B2, which claims priority back to the original filing date of US9786510.

Related Family Members

The patent family for US9786510 (Family ID=55438222) includes:

• US14/512,475 (US9786510B2): The subject patent itself.
• US15/688,885 (US10418251B2): A divisional application.
• US16/532,477 (US10930517B2): Another related application claiming priority.
• CN201410454915.XA (CN105470295B): A Chinese application claiming priority.

These illustrate the global patent strategy for the invention, with both US and international counterparts.

Projected Expiration Date

The Google Patents record for US9786510 indicates an "Adjusted expiration" date of 2035-01-24. This date already accounts for any Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) applied to the patent. The typical term for a U.S. utility patent filed on or after June 8, 1995, is 20 years from the earliest filing date, with adjustments for USPTO delays. Since the original filing date was 2014-10-13, a 20-year term would normally end on 2034-10-13. The extended expiration date of 2035-01-24 confirms that PTA was granted.