This article is first in a series focusing on various issues
related to Patent Term Adjustment. Part 1 is a general
overview of how to calculate patent term adjustment, without
addressing the numerous factors that can affect patent term
adjustment that will be examined in future articles.
Why PTA Exists
Under the pre-GATT regime, Patent Term Adjustment
("PTA") did not exist in the U.S. because patent term was
17 years from issuance. Consequently, any delay during
examination, on the part of the United States Patent and Trademark
Office ("USPTO") or Applicants, was not a concern.
In fact, during this time, Applicants were in a way incentivized
to, and sometimes would, delay examination to prolong their
effective patent term, particularly since at the time publication
of applications did not occur until issuance of the patent.
However, in 1995 GATT was adopted in an effort to harmonize U.S.
patent term with the rest of the world, with patent term in the
U.S. now
