Term ends Feb 25, 2036 · Low confidence
20-year base term ends Feb 25, 2036
Filed Jul 30, 2018 as application 16/048,634 · Granted Jan 1, 2019
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2016
2036
Clock starts
Feb 25, 2016
Feb 25, 2016
Term ends
Feb 25, 2036
Feb 25, 2036
Granted
Jan 1, 2019
Jan 1, 2019
base term
fee events
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,115,275, US 10,169,967, US 10,217,336, US 9,916,744, to Feb 25, 2036. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
1 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
5
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
This patent's term is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 1 of 3 maintenance fees is paid so far. Confidence: Low. from the record
How we calculated this date
One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Feb 25, 2016, when application 15/053,336, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jul 30, 2018); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Feb 25, 2036 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Medium confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 10,115,275, US 10,169,967, US 10,217,336, US 9,916,744) | resolves to Feb 25, 2036, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Further caveats on record | The record names parents not resolved: 15791642 | Low confidence overall | Low confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Feb 25, 2036 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 9,916,744 | In force Feb 2036 | Feb 2036 |
| US 10,115,275 | Grace period ended Feb 2036 | Feb 2036 |
| US 10,169,967 | In force Feb 2036 | Feb 2036 |
| US 10,217,336 | In force Feb 2036 | Feb 2036 |
| US 10,169,968 | this patent Feb 2036 | Feb 2036 |
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Assignments
Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2018 Reel 46499, frame 765 | Busby, James A.; Isaacs, Phillip Duane; Santiago-fernandez, William | International Business Machines Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup
Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Feb 2036
Term ends Feb 25, 2036.
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 10,115,275, US 10,169,967, US 10,217,336, US 9,916,744, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2019 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.
In force means the term is running and no lapse is on record. It is not a finding that the patent is valid.