Term ends Dec 22, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 22, 2026
Held by Promos Technologies Inc. and Winbond Electronics Corp.
Filed Dec 22, 2006 as application 11/615,909 · Granted May 26, 2009
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 22, 2006
Dec 22, 2006
Term ends
Dec 22, 2026
Dec 22, 2026
Granted
May 26, 2009
May 26, 2009
base term
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.
2
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 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 Dec 22, 2006, when this application, 11/615,909, was filed | Dec 22, 2026 | 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 | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 22, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,538,043 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 8,071,970 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2006 Reel 18695, frame 602 | Lee, Chien-min | Industrial Technology Research Institute; Powerchip Semicoductor Corp.; Nanya Technology Corporation; Promos Technologies Inc.; Winbond Electronics Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 26, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Lee, Chien-min | Industrial Technology Research Institute | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 26, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Lee, Chien-min | Powerchip Semicoductor Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 26, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Lee, Chien-min | Nanya Technology Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 26, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Lee, Chien-min | Promos Technologies Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 26, 2006 reel/frame not recorded | Lee, Chien-min | Winbond Electronics Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 15, 2010 Reel 24079, frame 342 | Industrial Technology Research Institute; Nanya Technology Corporation; Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. | Promos Technologies Inc.; Winbond Electronics Corp. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 15, 2010 reel/frame not recorded | Industrial Technology Research Institute; Powerchip Semiconductor Corp.; Nanya Technology Corporation | Promos Technologies Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 15, 2010 reel/frame not recorded | Industrial Technology Research Institute; Powerchip Semiconductor Corp.; Nanya Technology Corporation | Winbond Electronics Corp. | 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
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 22, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
13
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median 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.