Lapsed Feb 8, 2023 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ended Oct 28, 2025
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Smith & Nephew PLC
Filed Aug 23, 2007 as application 11/577,642 · Granted Feb 8, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Feb 8, 2023
2005
2026
Clock starts
Oct 28, 2005
Oct 28, 2005
No longer in force
Feb 8, 2023
Feb 8, 2023
Granted
Feb 8, 2011
Feb 8, 2011
Term would have run to
Oct 28, 2025
Oct 28, 2025
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 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.
34
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Oct 28, 2025: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. 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 Oct 28, 2005, when application PCT/GB2005/004177, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Aug 23, 2007) | Oct 28, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Feb 8, 2023 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Feb 8, 2023 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,257,327 | In force May 2029 | May 2029 |
| US 7,883,494 | this patent Feb 2023 | Feb 2023 |
| US 8,105,295 | In force Apr 2027 | Apr 2027 |
| US 8,348,910 | Lapsed on the fee record Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| US 8,162,909 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2024 | Apr 2024 |
| Application 12/066,730 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 12/066,578 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 10/599,728 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
8 of 34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2007 Reel 19540, frame 824 | Martin, Robin | Smith & Nephew PLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 13, 2012 Reel 27696, frame 21 | Blott, Patrick Lewis; Hartwell, Edward Yerbury; Nicolini, Derek; Lee-webb, Julian | Smith & Nephew PLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 10, 2019 Reel 49420, frame 895 | Smith & Nephew PLC | Smith & Nephew PLC | Address Change |
| Jun 18, 2019 Reel 49510, frame 609 | Smith & Nephew PLC | Smith & Nephew PLC | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Assignee Address Previously Recorded at Reel: 049420 Frame: 0895. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment. |
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.
Citations
356
later US patents cite this one
That is top 1% 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.