Term ends no later than Aug 7, 2027 · Low confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 12, 2026
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by Altair Semiconductor Ltd.
Filed Dec 12, 2006 as application 11/638,265 · Granted Jul 28, 2009
Base term plus 238 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Dec 12, 2006
Dec 12, 2006
Ends no later than
Aug 7, 2027
Aug 7, 2027
Granted
Jul 28, 2009
Jul 28, 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
238
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
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 runs 238 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. Confidence: Low. 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 12, 2006, when this application, 11/638,265, was filed | Dec 12, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +238 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Aug 7, 2027 | 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 | No fee event states this; the fee state is read from the payments the fee record holds | In force | Medium confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | no later than Aug 7, 2027 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 7,567,820 | this patent no later than Aug 2027 | no later than Aug 2027 |
| US 7,822,436 | 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 12, 2006 Reel 18681, frame 202 | Bitran, Yigal; Solomon, Eitan | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 11, 2010 Reel 24065, frame 968 | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | Etv Capital S.A. | Security Agreement |
| Oct 3, 2013 Reel 31343, frame 670 | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | Silicon Valley Bank | Security Agreement |
| Oct 10, 2013 Reel 31379, frame 389 | Etv Capital S.A. | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | Release of Security Interest |
| Apr 12, 2021 Reel 55984, frame 171 | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | Sony Semiconductor Israel Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Apr 5, 2023 Reel 63225, frame 200 | Sony Semiconductor Israel Ltd. | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 19, 2026 Reel 75350, frame 600 | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | Altair Semiconductor Ltd. | 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.
What's changing
Aug 2027
Term ends no later than Aug 7, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 238 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Aug 7, 2027. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
134
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% 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
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.
In force means the term is running and no lapse is on record. It is not a finding that the patent is valid.