Term ends Dec 1, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended May 16, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Altera Corporation
Filed Jan 6, 2017 as application 15/400,833 · Granted Jul 21, 2020
Base term plus 199 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
May 16, 2006
May 16, 2006
Term ends
Dec 1, 2026
Dec 1, 2026
Granted
Jul 21, 2020
Jul 21, 2020
base term
patent term adjustment
fee events
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
199
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 1
Maintenance fees paid
One maintenance fee can end this term early, the one due 3.5 years from grant; the next one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts it if the record shows it paid.
7
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 199 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 1 of 1 maintenance fees is paid so far. Confidence: Medium. 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 May 16, 2006, when application 11/435,416, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 6, 2017); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | May 16, 2026 | 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 | +199 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 1, 2026 | 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 1 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 1, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,479,798 | Term ended May 2026 | May 2026 |
| US 8,604,823 | In force Feb 2027 | Feb 2027 |
| Application 14/089,364 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 9,755,650 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2025 | Sep 2025 |
| US 10,720,927 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| Application 15/639,869 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 16/919,941 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2025 Reel 73431, frame 309 | Altera Corporation | Barclays Bank PLC, as Collateral Agent | Security 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 2026
Term ends Dec 1, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 199 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
0
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2020 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.