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Analytical disc with optically trackable encoded information and related optical inspection system

US 6,803,999 Term ended
OverviewSources & methods

Term ended no later than Sep 15, 2015 · From the USPTO record

No current holder resolved from the recorded chain.
Filed Aug 21, 2000 as application 09/642,996 · Granted Oct 12, 2004
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
20 years from filing
Ended no later than Sep 15, 2015
1995 2026
Clock starts
Sep 15, 1995
Ended no later than
Sep 15, 2015
Granted
Oct 12, 2004
base term after the term ends 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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
2 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts the ones the record shows paid.

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 filingClock starts Sep 15, 1995, when the earliest non-provisional application in its chain was filed (this one was filed Aug 21, 2000); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row)Sep 15, 2015High confidence
Continuity chainA parent in the chain could not be resolveddated from this application's own claimMedium confidence
Patent term adjustmentNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolvedno cap applied, and none guessedMedium confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events2 of 2 maintenance fees paidterm endedHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderno later than Sep 15, 2015From the USPTO record

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.

Not on this page: the patent's family, its recorded assignments and its citation count. USPTO's assignment records, linked above, list every recorded assignment.

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.

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