Term ends Dec 24, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 6, 2026
Held by Smith & Nephew, Inc.
Filed Sep 6, 2006 as application 11/517,210 · Granted Aug 4, 2009
Base term plus 109 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Sep 6, 2006
Sep 6, 2006
Term ends
Dec 24, 2026
Dec 24, 2026
Granted
Aug 4, 2009
Aug 4, 2009
base term
patent term adjustment
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
109
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.
84
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 109 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 Sep 6, 2006, when this application, 11/517,210, was filed | Sep 6, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +109 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 24, 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 24, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,141,246 | Term ended Feb 2019 | Feb 2019 |
| US 7,866,907 | In force Sep 2028 | Sep 2028 |
| Application PCT/US2005/028162 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application 60/794,978 | Pending not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/416,061 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/507,220 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/516,216 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,569,742 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
8 of 84 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2006 Reel 18650, frame 887 | Haggstrom, Kurt; Tranchemontagne, Alain; Jinga, Loredana | Tyco Healthcare Group, LP | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 9, 2013 Reel 29595, frame 101 | Tyco Healthcare Group LP | Covidien LP | Change of Name |
| Jul 12, 2013 Reel 30783, frame 682 | Covidien LP | Smith & Nephew, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 13, 2014 Reel 32264, frame 481 | Smith & Nephew, Inc. | Smith & Nephew, Inc. | Change of Address |
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 24, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 109 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
739
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.