Lapsed Dec 15, 2017 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 22, 2026
Why Medium: A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) with no resolved reference, so the term may end earlier.
Second maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Syntheon Inc.
Filed Sep 14, 2006 as application 11/521,210 · Granted Dec 15, 2009
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 579 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Dec 15, 2017
2006
2027
Clock starts
Mar 22, 2006
Mar 22, 2006
No longer in force
Dec 15, 2017
Dec 15, 2017
Granted
Dec 15, 2009
Dec 15, 2009
Term would have run to
Oct 22, 2027
Oct 22, 2027
base term
patent term adjustment
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
579
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.
1 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.
10
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 Oct 22, 2027: its 20-year base term plus 579 days of term 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 22, 2006, when application 11/387,198, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Sep 14, 2006) | Mar 22, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +579 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Oct 22, 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 | 1 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Dec 15, 2017 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 15, 2017 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,644,548 | In force no later than Dec 2027 | no later than Dec 2027 |
| US 7,632,348 | this patent Dec 2017 | Dec 2017 |
| US 7,658,797 | In force no later than Oct 2027 | no later than Oct 2027 |
| US 7,648,574 | Term ended Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| US 7,699,929 | Surrendered on reissue no later than Mar 2012 | no later than Mar 2012 |
| US 8,029,617 | Term ended Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| US 7,820,094 | Lapsed on the fee record Oct 2022 | Oct 2022 |
| US 8,357,240 | Term ended Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
8 of 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2006 Reel 18377, frame 23 | Cowan, David A.; Guevara, Tricia; Matz, Gary F. | Nova Chemicals Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 31, 2012 Reel 29218, frame 1 | Nova Chemicals Inc. | Syntheon Inc. | 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
Note
The 579 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 Dec 15, 2017. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
23
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.