Lapsed Jun 14, 2023 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ended Jun 2, 2026
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
No current holder resolved from the recorded chain.
Filed Dec 23, 2009 as application 12/646,682 · Granted Jun 14, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Jun 14, 2023
2006
2026
Clock starts
Jun 2, 2006
Jun 2, 2006
No longer in force
Jun 14, 2023
Jun 14, 2023
Granted
Jun 14, 2011
Jun 14, 2011
Term would have run to
Jun 2, 2026
Jun 2, 2026
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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,653,056, to Jun 2, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
3
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 Jun 2, 2026: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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 Jun 2, 2006, when application 11/421,766, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Dec 23, 2009) | Jun 2, 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 | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,653,056) | resolves to Jun 2, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Jun 14, 2023 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jun 14, 2023 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,653,056 | In force Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
| US 8,018,938 | In force Sep 2027 | Sep 2027 |
| US 7,961,728 | this patent Jun 2023 | Jun 2023 |
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 15, 2014 Reel 33329, frame 417 | Ciena Corporation | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Security Interest |
| Jul 16, 2014 Reel 33347, frame 260 | Ciena Corporation | Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent | Patent Security Agreement |
| Oct 30, 2019 Reel 50938, frame 389 | Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch | Ciena Corporation | Release of Security Interest |
| Nov 8, 2019 Reel 50969, frame 1 | Ciena Corporation | Bank of America, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Patent Security Agreement |
| Nov 20, 2023 Reel 65630, frame 232 | Bank Of America, N.a. | Ciena Corporation | 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.
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,653,056, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
4
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.