Term ends May 25, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Jul 5, 2026
Held by Proterial, Ltd.
Filed Jul 5, 2006 as application 11/481,228 · Granted Dec 29, 2009
Base term plus 324 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Jul 5, 2006
Jul 5, 2006
Term ends
May 25, 2027
May 25, 2027
Granted
Dec 29, 2009
Dec 29, 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
324
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.
11
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 324 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 Jul 5, 2006, when this application, 11/481,228, was filed | Jul 5, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +324 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | May 25, 2027 | 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 | May 25, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,394,639 | Term ended Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 |
| US 7,971,604 | In force Nov 2028 | Nov 2028 |
| US 7,603,186 | In force Apr 2027 | Apr 2027 |
| US 7,640,078 | this patent May 2027 | May 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2006/026347 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,651,263 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2007/066880 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application PCT/US2007/067593 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
8 of 11 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, 2006 Reel 18167, frame 549 | Smirnov, Alexei V. | Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 31, 2010 Reel 25217, frame 675 | Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 11, 2024 Reel 68943, frame 854 | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Change of Address |
| Sep 11, 2024 Reel 68944, frame 752 | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Proterial, Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Jan 21, 2025 Reel 69959, frame 507 | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Changing Patent Number 8671972 to 8504311 Previously Recorded at Reel: 68943 Frame: 854. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Change of Address. |
| Jan 21, 2025 Reel 69959, frame 644 | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the the Patent Number from 8671972 to 8504311 Previously Recorded on Reel 68943 Frame 622. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Change of Address. |
| Jan 21, 2025 Reel 69959, frame 902 | Hitachi Metals, Ltd. | Proterial, Ltd. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Patent Number from 8671972 to 8504311 Previously Recorded on Reel 68944 Frame 752. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the 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
May 2027
Term ends May 25, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 324 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
30
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.