Term ends Jul 19, 2027 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Jul 19, 2027
Why Medium: The disclaimer's references carry disclaimers of their own not yet read (US 7,600,436), so the cap could be lower.
Held by Endress + Hauser Flowtec AG
Filed Dec 30, 2008 as application 12/318,474 · Granted Feb 8, 2011
Base term plus 82 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) · capped by a resolved terminal disclaimer
Today
2007
2027
Clock starts
Jul 19, 2007
Jul 19, 2007
Term ends
Jul 19, 2027
Jul 19, 2027
Granted
Feb 8, 2011
Feb 8, 2011
base term
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
82
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Capped
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,600,436.
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.
3
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 82 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document caps it earlier. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Jul 19, 2007, when applications 11/826,992 and 11/826,993, the earliest non-provisional applications in its chain, were filed (this one was filed Dec 30, 2008) | Jul 19, 2027 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +82 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Oct 9, 2027 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,600,436) | capped to Jul 19, 2027 | Medium 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 | Jul 19, 2027 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,600,436 | In force no later than Jul 2027 | no later than Jul 2027 |
| US 7,603,914 | In force no later than Jul 2027 | no later than Jul 2027 |
| US 7,882,751 | this patent Jul 2027 | Jul 2027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2009 Reel 22655, frame 391 | Hoecker, Rainer | Endress + Hauser Flowtec AG | 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
Jul 2027
Term ends Jul 19, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 82 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Disclaimer cap
This term is capped by a terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,600,436.
Citations
26
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2011 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.