Lapsed Apr 12, 2023 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Apr 2, 2029
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Filed Sep 21, 2009 as application 12/563,391 · Granted Apr 12, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Apr 12, 2023
2009
2029
Clock starts
Apr 2, 2009
Apr 2, 2009
No longer in force
Apr 12, 2023
Apr 12, 2023
Granted
Apr 12, 2011
Apr 12, 2011
Term would have run to
Apr 2, 2029
Apr 2, 2029
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.
23
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 Apr 2, 2029: 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 Apr 2, 2009, when application 12/417,077, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Sep 21, 2009) | Apr 2, 2029 | 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 Apr 12, 2023 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Apr 12, 2023 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,629,903 | In force Mar 2032 | Mar 2032 |
| US 8,629,784 | In force Aug 2032 | Aug 2032 |
| US 8,704,653 | In force Dec 2032 | Dec 2032 |
| US 7,924,146 | this patent Apr 2023 | Apr 2023 |
| US 8,358,224 | In force Jan 2031 | Jan 2031 |
| US 8,269,652 | In force Oct 2030 | Oct 2030 |
| Application 12/563,379 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,344,894 | Lapsed on the fee record Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
8 of 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 21, 2009 Reel 23681, frame 417 | Seder, Thomas A.; Szczerba, Joseph F.; Cui, Dehua | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 25, 2010 Reel 23989, frame 155 | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | United States Department of the Treasury | Security Agreement |
| Feb 25, 2010 Reel 23990, frame 1 | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Uaw Retiree Medical Benefits Trust | Security Agreement |
| Nov 4, 2010 Reel 25246, frame 234 | United States Department of the Treasury | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 5, 2010 Reel 25315, frame 91 | Uaw Retiree Medical Benefits Trust | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 8, 2010 Reel 25324, frame 555 | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | Wilmington Trust Company | Security Agreement |
| Feb 10, 2011 Reel 25781, frame 299 | GM Global Technology Operations, Inc. | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | Change of Name |
| Nov 7, 2014 Reel 34185, frame 789 | Wilmington Trust Company | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
Citations
139
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% 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.