Term ends Nov 21, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 21, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by PetMatrix LLC
Filed Jan 19, 2022 as application 17/579,074 · Granted Aug 1, 2023
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Nov 21, 2006
Nov 21, 2006
Term ends
Nov 21, 2026
Nov 21, 2026
Granted
Aug 1, 2023
Aug 1, 2023
base term
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 9,968,117, to Nov 21, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
None due
Maintenance fees
This term ends before the first maintenance fee's grace period does, 4 years from grant, so no fee can end it early.
8
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. No maintenance fee can end this term early. 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 Nov 21, 2006, when application 11/602,939, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 19, 2022); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Nov 21, 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 | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 9,968,117) | resolves to Nov 21, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | No maintenance fee can end the term early | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Nov 21, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,677,203 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| US 8,455,025 | In force Jul 2031 | Jul 2031 |
| US 9,968,117 | In force Nov 2028 | Nov 2028 |
| US 10,624,317 | In force Oct 2030 | Oct 2030 |
| Application 15/958,780 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 11,259,500 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
| US 11,712,025 | this patent Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
7 of 8 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2024 Reel 67201, frame 653 | Spectrum Brands, Inc.; Glofish, LLC; Spectrum Brands Pet Group, Inc.; Spectrum Brands Pet LLC; Empower Brands, LLC; United Industries Corporation | Royal Bank of Canada | 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.
What's changing
Nov 2026
Term ends Nov 21, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 9,968,117, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
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
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.