Term ends Dec 2, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Aug 24, 2025
Held by Apple Inc.
Filed Aug 24, 2005 as application 11/212,555 · Granted May 19, 2009
Base term plus 465 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2026
Clock starts
Aug 24, 2005
Aug 24, 2005
Term ends
Dec 2, 2026
Dec 2, 2026
Granted
May 19, 2009
May 19, 2009
base term
patent term adjustment
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
465
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
12
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 465 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Aug 24, 2005, when this application, 11/212,555, was filed | Aug 24, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +465 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 2, 2026 | 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 | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 2, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,536,565 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 7,593,782 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2005/046797 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,889,497 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| Application 11/830,476 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,865,745 | Lapsed on the fee record Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 |
| US 7,856,564 | Term ended Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| US 8,259,444 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2024 | Sep 2024 |
8 of 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2005 Reel 16928, frame 24 | Girish, Muthya K.; Lindahl, Aram; Woodson, Morgan | Apple Computer, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 13, 2007 Reel 19000, frame 383 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Apple Inc. | Change of Name |
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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 2, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 465 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
547
later US patents cite this one
That is top 1% of utility patents granted in 2009 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.