Term ends no later than Sep 10, 2027 · Low confidence
20-year base term ended Oct 20, 2026
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by Align Technology, Inc.
Filed Mar 9, 2020 as application 16/812,935 · Granted Feb 21, 2023
Base term plus 325 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Oct 20, 2006
Oct 20, 2006
Ends no later than
Sep 10, 2027
Sep 10, 2027
Granted
Feb 21, 2023
Feb 21, 2023
base term
patent term adjustment
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
325
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
0 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.
6
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 325 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 0 of 1 maintenance fees are 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 Oct 20, 2006, when application 11/551,605, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Mar 9, 2020); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Oct 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 | +325 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 10, 2027 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 0 of 1 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | no later than Sep 10, 2027 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 9,326,831 | In force Oct 2030 | Oct 2030 |
| US 9,844,420 | Term ended Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 10,022,204 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 |
| US 10,582,986 | Term ended Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| US 11,583,366 | this patent no later than Sep 2027 | no later than Sep 2027 |
| US 12,023,217 | Term ended Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 15, 2022 Reel 62106, frame 611 | Cheang, Ka Man | Align Technology, Inc. | 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
Sep 2027
Term ends no later than Sep 10, 2027.
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 325 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Sep 10, 2027. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
0
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2023 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.