Term ended Oct 13, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Sep 28, 2026
Filed Oct 13, 2008 as application 12/250,081 · Granted Apr 6, 2010
Base term plus 15 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Term ended Oct 13, 2026
2006
2026
Clock starts
Sep 28, 2006
Sep 28, 2006
Term ended
Oct 13, 2026
Oct 13, 2026
Granted
Apr 6, 2010
Apr 6, 2010
base term
patent term adjustment
after the term ends
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
15
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 15 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. 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 28, 2006, when application 11/536,574, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 13, 2008) | Sep 28, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +15 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Oct 13, 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 | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Oct 13, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,469,640 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 7,690,308 | this patent Oct 2026 | Oct 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2010 Reel 25321, frame 291 | Alliant Techsystems Inc.; Ammunition Accessories Inc.; Atk Commercial Ammunition Company Inc.; Atk Commercial Ammunition Holdings Company; Atk Launch Systems Inc.; Atk Space Systems Inc.; Federal Cartridge Company; Eagle Industries Unlimited, Inc.; Eagle Mayaguez, LLC; Eagle New Bedford, Inc. | Bank Of America, N.a. | Security Agreement |
| Nov 26, 2013 Reel 31731, frame 281 | Alliant Techsystems Inc.; Caliber Company; Eagle Industries Unlimited, Inc.; Federal Cartridge Company; Savage Arms, Inc.; Savage Range Systems, Inc.; Savage Sports Corporation | Bank Of America, N.a. | Security Agreement |
| Sep 30, 2015 Reel 36732, frame 170 | Orbital Atk, Inc.; Orbital Sciences Corporation | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Security Agreement |
| Nov 28, 2017 Reel 44824, frame 466 | Alliant Techsystems Inc. | Orbital Atk, Inc. | Change of Name |
| Jun 6, 2018 Reel 45998, frame 801 | Bank Of America, N.a. | Alliant Techsystems Inc.; Atk/Physical Sciences, Inc.; Orbital Sciences Corporation; Orbital Atk, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jun 6, 2018 Reel 46477, frame 874 | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Orbital Atk, Inc. | Termination and Release of Security Interest in Patents |
| Jun 6, 2018 reel/frame not recorded | Bank Of America, N.a. | Alliant Techsystems Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jun 6, 2018 reel/frame not recorded | Bank Of America, N.a. | Atk/Physical Sciences, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jun 6, 2018 reel/frame not recorded | Bank Of America, N.a. | Orbital Sciences Corporation | Release of Security Interest |
| Jun 6, 2018 reel/frame not recorded | Bank Of America, N.a. | Orbital Atk, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 1, 2018 Reel 47400, frame 381 | Orbital Atk, Inc. | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc. | Change of Name |
| Feb 4, 2021 Reel 55223, frame 425 | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Inc. | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems LLC | Change of Name |
| Feb 8, 2021 Reel 55256, frame 892 | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems LLC | Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation | 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
The 15 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
40
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.