Term ends Dec 6, 2031 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Jun 29, 2031
Held by Kla-Tencor Corporation
Filed May 9, 2016 as application 15/150,406 · Granted Feb 19, 2019
Base term plus 160 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Jun 29, 2011
Jun 29, 2011
Term ends
Dec 6, 2031
Dec 6, 2031
Granted
Feb 19, 2019
Feb 19, 2019
base term
patent term adjustment
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
160
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
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.
4
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 runs 160 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 1 of 3 maintenance fees is paid so far. Confidence: High. 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 Jun 29, 2011, when application 13/172,686, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 9, 2016) | Jun 29, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +160 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 6, 2031 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 1 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 6, 2031 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,389,408 | In force Aug 2034 | Aug 2034 |
| Application PCT/US2011/044045 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 10,209,501 | this patent Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| Application 15/150,411 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 2016 Reel 38554, frame 323 | Hou, Zhen; Xu, James Jianguo; Lee, Ken Kinsun; Stainton, James Nelson; Nguyen, Hung Phi; Kudinar, Rusmin; Soetarman, Ronny | Zeta Instruments, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 1, 2018 Reel 46530, frame 323 | Zeta Instruments, Inc. | Kla-Tencor 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
Dec 2031
Term ends Dec 6, 2031.
Note
The 160 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
2
later US patents cite this one
That is below 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.