Term ended May 11, 2021 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 11, 2021
Held by Cargill, Incorporated
Filed May 11, 2001 as application 09/854,138 · Granted Jan 7, 2003
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Term ended May 11, 2021
2001
2026
Clock starts
May 11, 2001
May 11, 2001
Term ended
May 11, 2021
May 11, 2021
Granted
Jan 7, 2003
Jan 7, 2003
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.
3 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.
28
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. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. 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 May 11, 2001, when this application, 09/854,138, was filed | May 11, 2021 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High 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 | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | May 11, 2021 | High confidence |
This family
| US 6,503,285 | this patent May 2021 | May 2021 |
| US 6,645,261 | Term ended Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 |
| US 7,128,766 | Term ended May 2021 | May 2021 |
| US 6,770,104 | Term ended May 2021 | May 2021 |
| US 7,217,301 | Term ended Jul 2021 | Jul 2021 |
| Application PCT/US2004/000841 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,462,205 | Term ended Dec 2022 | Dec 2022 |
| Application PCT/US2006/000822 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
8 of 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 2001 Reel 12254, frame 753 | Murphy, Timothy A. | Cargill, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 28, 2007 Reel 20299, frame 187 | Cargill Incorporated | Renewable Chemicals Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 20, 2008 Reel 20532, frame 380 | Renewable Chemicals Corporation | Cargill, Incorporated | License |
| May 6, 2008 Reel 20897, frame 722 | Renewable Chemicals Corporation | Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. | Change of Name |
| Jun 22, 2016 Reel 38980, frame 528 | Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. | Cargill, Incorporated | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 5, 2016 Reel 39354, frame 336 | Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. | Cargill, Incorporated | 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.
Citations
68
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2003 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.