Term ends no later than Dec 26, 2027 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Jul 29, 2024
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.
Filed Aug 29, 2006 as application 11/512,796 · Granted Apr 26, 2011
Base term plus 1245 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2004
2027
Clock starts
Jul 29, 2004
Jul 29, 2004
Ends no later than
Dec 26, 2027
Dec 26, 2027
Granted
Apr 26, 2011
Apr 26, 2011
base term
patent term adjustment
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
1,245
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.
2
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 1245 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 Jul 29, 2004, when application 10/903,732, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Aug 29, 2006) | Jul 29, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1245 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 26, 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 Dec 26, 2027 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,097,612 | Term ended Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| US 7,931,579 | this patent no later than Dec 2027 | no later than Dec 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29, 2006 Reel 18254, frame 656 | Bertolero, Arthur A.; Ibrahim, Tamer | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 11, 2008 Reel 21076, frame 248 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Silicon Valley Bank; Oxford Finance Corporation | Security Agreement |
| Jun 11, 2008 reel/frame not recorded | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Silicon Valley Bank | Security Agreement |
| Jun 11, 2008 reel/frame not recorded | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Oxford Finance Corporation | Security Agreement |
| Jun 19, 2008 Reel 21118, frame 539 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Saints Capital Vi, L.p. | Security Agreement |
| Sep 30, 2008 Reel 21603, frame 209 | Saints Capital Vi, L.p. | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Dec 1, 2009 Reel 23586, frame 251 | Oxford Finance Corporation | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jan 3, 2012 Reel 27468, frame 759 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | NXT Capital, LLC, Its Successors and Assigns | Security Agreement |
| Feb 29, 2012 Reel 27786, frame 529 | NXT Capital, LLC | NXT Capital SBIC, LP, Its Successors and Assigns | Assignment of Security Interest |
| Mar 27, 2013 Reel 30097, frame 652 | NXT Capital SBIC, LP | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Apr 1, 2013 Reel 30127, frame 554 | Silicon Valley Bank | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Oct 23, 2013 Reel 31460, frame 389 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc., a California Corporation | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc., a Delaware Corporation | Merger |
| Oct 25, 2013 Reel 31475, frame 672 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. D/B/A Estech, Inc. | Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 11, 2013 Reel 31758, frame 276 | Endoscopic Technologies, Inc. | Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation | 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
Dec 2027
Term ends no later than Dec 26, 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 1245 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 Dec 26, 2027. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
72
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% 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.