Term ended Mar 20, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 20, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.
Filed Mar 24, 2017 as application 15/468,581 · Granted Aug 4, 2020
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Term ended Mar 20, 2026
2006
2026
Clock starts
Mar 20, 2006
Mar 20, 2006
Term ended
Mar 20, 2026
Mar 20, 2026
Granted
Aug 4, 2020
Aug 4, 2020
base term
after the term ends
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.
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.
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. 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 Mar 20, 2006, when application 11/277,027, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Mar 24, 2017); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Mar 20, 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 | None on file | no change | 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 | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Mar 20, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,046,160 | In force Jun 2027 | Jun 2027 |
| US 8,751,148 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 9,630,639 | Term ended Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| US 10,730,541 | this patent Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| US 11,718,336 | In force Jun 2027 | Jun 2027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2019 Reel 50890, frame 411 | Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.; Carttronics LLC | Bmo Harris Bank, N.a. | Grant of Security Interest - Patents |
| Aug 29, 2024 Reel 68807, frame 362 | Carttronics LLC; Gatekeeper Systems, Inc. | Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Security Interest |
| Aug 30, 2024 Reel 68822, frame 838 | BMO Bank N.A. (F/K/A BMO Harris Bank N.A.) | Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.; Carttronics LLC | Release of Security Interest |
| Aug 30, 2024 reel/frame not recorded | BMO Bank N.A. (F/K/A BMO Harris Bank N.A.) | Gatekeeper Systems, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Aug 30, 2024 reel/frame not recorded | BMO Bank N.A. (F/K/A BMO Harris Bank N.A.) | Carttronics LLC | Release of 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.
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.