Lapsed Apr 18, 2018 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 2, 2020
Why Medium: A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) with no resolved reference, so the term may end earlier.
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Nestec S.A.
Filed Jan 7, 2002 as application 09/936,543 · Granted Apr 18, 2006
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Apr 18, 2018
2000
2026
Clock starts
Mar 2, 2000
Mar 2, 2000
No longer in force
Apr 18, 2018
Apr 18, 2018
Granted
Apr 18, 2006
Apr 18, 2006
Term would have run to
Mar 2, 2020
Mar 2, 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.
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 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.
79
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Mar 2, 2020: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 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 2, 2000, when application PCT/EP2000/001797, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 7, 2002) | Mar 2, 2020 | 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 | 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Apr 18, 2018 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Apr 18, 2018 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,192,419 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2019 | Mar 2019 |
| US 7,029,669 | this patent Apr 2018 | Apr 2018 |
| US 6,887,465 | Term ended Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 |
| US 7,368,272 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2012 | May 2012 |
| US 6,733,770 | Term ended Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 |
| US 6,835,376 | Term ended Mar 2020 | Mar 2020 |
| US 6,939,705 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2013 | Sep 2013 |
| US 7,084,107 | Term ended no later than Apr 2020 | no later than Apr 2020 |
8 of 79 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 11, 2002 Reel 12730, frame 947 | Bruessow, Harald; Rochat, Florence; Von Der Weid, Thierry; Blum-speriesen, Stephanie | Nestec S.A. | 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
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Apr 18, 2018. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
11
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2006 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.