Collateral for a security interest recorded Jul 29, 2025 (Wells Fargo Bank, National Association).
Term ended Jan 5, 2025 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 21, 2024
Held by Microprobe, Inc.
Filed Jun 29, 2006 as application 11/480,302 · Granted Jul 20, 2010
Base term plus 229 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Term ended Jan 5, 2025
2004
2026
Clock starts
May 21, 2004
May 21, 2004
Term ended
Jan 5, 2025
Jan 5, 2025
Granted
Jul 20, 2010
Jul 20, 2010
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
229
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.
33
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 229 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 May 21, 2004, when application 10/850,921, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 29, 2006) | May 21, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +229 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jan 5, 2025 | 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 | Jan 5, 2025 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,148,709 | Term ended Jul 2024 | Jul 2024 |
| US 7,091,729 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2018 | Aug 2018 |
| US 7,312,617 | Surrendered on reissue Aug 2013 | Aug 2013 |
| US 7,733,101 | Term ended Dec 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| US 7,759,949 | this patent Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| US 7,659,739 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 |
| US 7,786,740 | In force Feb 2027 | Feb 2027 |
| US 7,649,367 | In force Dec 2027 | Dec 2027 |
8 of 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2006 Reel 18307, frame 932 | Kister, January | Microprobe, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 12, 2016 Reel 39184, frame 280 | FormFactor, Inc.; Astria Semiconductor Holdings, Inc.; Cascade Microtech, Inc.; Micro-Probe Incorporated | HSBC Bank USA, National Association | Security Interest in United States Patents and Trademarks |
| Jul 29, 2025 Reel 72263, frame 272 | FormFactor, Inc. | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Security Interest |
| Aug 7, 2025 Reel 72853, frame 1 | HSBC Bank USA, National Association | FormFactor, Inc. | Release of Security 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.
What's changing
Note
The 229 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
24
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.