Category 1
US Patent No. 4,087,044 was filed on November 26, 1976 and issued on May 2, 1978. Its expiration date was May 2, 1995; 17 years from the issue date.
Category 2
US Patent No. 5,011,685 was filed on September 10, 1990 and issued on April 30, 1991. It was a divisional application that claimed priority to a parent application that was filed on April 6, 1998. A patent term extending 20 years from the earliest filing date, April 6, 1998, would expire on April 6, 2007. However, a patent term extending 17 years from the issue date would expire later in the same month; April 30, 2008. Therefore the 17 year term would apply to this patent.
Category 3
US Patent No. 6,051,757 was filed on June 5, 1995 and issued on April 18, 2000. This application was a continuation application that claimed priority to a parent with a filing date of February 11, 1988. In this case, a term of 20 years from the filing date would lead to an expiration date of February 11, 2008. However, a term extending 17 years from the issue date would lead to an expiration date of April 18, 2017. Because the 17 year expiration date is later than the 20 year expiration date, the predicted expiration date would be April 18, 2017.
US Patent No. 6,936,253 was filed on June 7, 1995 and issued on August 30, 2005. It was a continuation application and has a parent that was filed on January 22, 1993. In this case, a term of 20 years from the filing date would lead to an expiration date of January 22, 2013. However, a term extending 17 years from the issue date, August 30, 2005, would lead to an expiration date of August 30, 2022. Because the 17 year expiration date is later than the 20 year expiration date, the predicted expiration date would be August 30, 2022.
US Patent No. 5,850,015 was filed on June 7, 1995 and issued on December 15, 1998. It was not a continuation or a nationalization of a PCT application. A term of 20 years from the filing date would lead to an expiration date of June 7, 2015. A term extending 17 years from the issue date, December 18, 1998, would lead to a predicted expiration date of December 15, 2015. Because the 17 year expiration date is slightly later than the 20 year expiration date, the predicted expiration date would be December 18, 2015.
Category 4
US Patent No. 5,689,056 was filed on November 7, 1995 and issued on November 18, 1997. It is a continuation of an abandoned application that was filed on August 2, 1993. The earliest filing date is August 2, 1993, and therefore the predicted expiration date would be 20 years from that date, or August 2, 2013.
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