Term ends no later than Sep 17, 2027 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Apr 25, 2026
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by First Solar, Inc.
Filed Apr 25, 2006 as application 11/380,088 · Granted Apr 19, 2011
Base term plus 510 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2027
Clock starts
Apr 25, 2006
Apr 25, 2006
Ends no later than
Sep 17, 2027
Sep 17, 2027
Granted
Apr 19, 2011
Apr 19, 2011
base term
patent term adjustment
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
510
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
10
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 510 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 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 Apr 25, 2006, when this application, 11/380,088, was filed | Apr 25, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +510 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 17, 2027 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | 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 | no later than Sep 17, 2027 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,968,145 | In force no later than Sep 2027 | no later than Sep 2027 |
| US 7,910,166 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| US 7,927,659 | this patent no later than Sep 2027 | no later than Sep 2027 |
| US 7,931,937 | In force no later than Sep 2027 | no later than Sep 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2006/015645 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,353,987 | Term ended Apr 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| US 8,388,754 | Term ended no later than Apr 2026 | no later than Apr 2026 |
| US 8,382,901 | Term ended no later than Apr 2026 | no later than Apr 2026 |
8 of 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2006 Reel 17667, frame 790 | Powell, Ricky Charles; Gray, Andrew Kelly; Coleman, Todd Alden | First Solar, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 10, 2006 Reel 18087, frame 24 | First Solar, LLC | First Solar US Manufacturing, LLC | Change of Name |
| Jul 26, 2007 Reel 19605, frame 311 | First Solar US Manufacturing, LLC | First Solar, Inc. | Merger |
| Jul 19, 2013 Reel 30832, frame 88 | First Solar, Inc. | Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a. | Security Agreement |
| Sep 19, 2014 Reel 33779, frame 81 | First Solar, Inc. | Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Patent Application 13/895113 Erroneously Assigned by First Solar, Inc. to Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.A. on July 19, 2013 Previously Recorded on Reel 030832 Frame 0088. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Correct Patent Application to Be Assigned Is 13/633664. |
| Jul 12, 2017 Reel 43177, frame 581 | First Solar, Inc. | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent | Patent Security Agreement |
| Nov 15, 2021 Reel 58132, frame 566 | Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a. | First Solar, Inc. | Termination and Release of Security Interest in Patent Rights |
| Jul 10, 2023 Reel 64237, frame 462 | First Solar, Inc. | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent | Security Interest |
| Feb 13, 2026 Reel 74858, frame 364 | Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a. | First Solar, 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Sep 2027
Term ends no later than Sep 17, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 510 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Sep 17, 2027. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
14
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.