Term ends Dec 6, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 25, 2026
Filed Sep 25, 2006 as application 11/525,868 · Granted Jan 12, 2010
Base term plus 72 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Sep 25, 2006
Sep 25, 2006
Term ends
Dec 6, 2026
Dec 6, 2026
Granted
Jan 12, 2010
Jan 12, 2010
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
72
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.
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 72 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 25, 2006, when this application, 11/525,868, was filed | Sep 25, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +72 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 6, 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 6, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,646,086 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 7,781,880 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2006 Reel 18341, frame 627 | Egawa, Yoshimi | OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 16, 2009 Reel 22162, frame 586 | OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd. | OKI Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Mar 21, 2014 Reel 32495, frame 483 | OKI Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | Lapis Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | Change of Name |
| Apr 11, 2022 Reel 59559, frame 280 | Lapis Semiconductor Co., Ltd. | Achlys Technologies Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 19, 2022 Reel 60244, frame 398 | Achlys Technologies Inc. | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 6, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 72 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
15
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2010 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.