Term ends Dec 8, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 8, 2026
No current holder resolved from the recorded chain.
Filed Sep 10, 2009 as application 12/556,970 · Granted May 17, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 8, 2006
Dec 8, 2006
Term ends
Dec 8, 2026
Dec 8, 2026
Granted
May 17, 2011
May 17, 2011
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Dec 8, 2006, when application 11/636,382, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Sep 10, 2009) | Dec 8, 2026 | 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 | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 8, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,606,078 | In force May 2027 | May 2027 |
| US 7,944,751 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
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 12, 2016 Reel 38669, frame 1 | Micron Technology, Inc. | U.S. Bank National Association, as Collateral Agent | Security Interest |
| Jun 2, 2016 Reel 38954, frame 1 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Collateral Agent | Patent Security Agreement |
| Jun 8, 2017 Reel 43079, frame 1 | Micron Technology, Inc. | U.S. Bank National Association, as Collateral Agent | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Replace Erroneously Filed Patent #7358718 with the Correct Patent #7358178 Previously Recorded on Reel 038669 Frame 0001. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Security Interest. |
| Jul 13, 2018 Reel 47540, frame 1 | Micron Technology, Inc.; Micron Semiconductor Products, Inc. | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Security Interest |
| Aug 23, 2018 Reel 47243, frame 1 | U.S. Bank National Association, as Collateral Agent | Micron Technology, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Oct 9, 2019 Reel 50937, frame 1 | Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Collateral Agent | Micron Technology, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 12, 2019 Reel 51028, frame 1 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Micron Technology, Inc.; Micron Semiconductor Products, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 12, 2019 reel/frame not recorded | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Micron Technology, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 12, 2019 reel/frame not recorded | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Micron Semiconductor Products, 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.
What's changing
Dec 2026
Term ends Dec 8, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
2
later US patents cite this one
That is below 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
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.