Term ends Sep 21, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Feb 19, 2029
Held by Hitachi Astemo, Ltd.
Filed Feb 19, 2009 as application 12/388,910 · Granted Jul 12, 2011
Base term plus 214 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2009
2029
Clock starts
Feb 19, 2009
Feb 19, 2009
Term ends
Sep 21, 2029
Sep 21, 2029
Granted
Jul 12, 2011
Jul 12, 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
214
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
8
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 214 days past its 20-year base term on 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 Feb 19, 2009, when this application, 12/388,910, was filed | Feb 19, 2029 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +214 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 21, 2029 | 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 | Sep 21, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,978,471 | this patent Sep 2029 | Sep 2029 |
| US 8,416,574 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| US 8,917,509 | In force Jun 2029 | Jun 2029 |
| US 9,042,101 | In force Feb 2029 | Feb 2029 |
| US 9,137,932 | In force Feb 2029 | Feb 2029 |
| US 9,648,791 | In force Feb 2029 | Feb 2029 |
| US 10,524,398 | In force Feb 2029 | Feb 2029 |
| US 10,966,355 | In force Feb 2029 | Feb 2029 |
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, 2009 Reel 22671, frame 927 | Tokuyama, Takeshi; Nakatsu, Kinya; Saito, Ryuichi; Horiuchi, Keisuke; Satoh, Toshiya; Miyazaki, Hideki | Hitachi, Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 29, 2021 Reel 58960, frame 1 | Hitachi, Ltd. | Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. | Demerger |
| Nov 30, 2021 Reel 58481, frame 935 | Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. | Hitachi Astemo, Ltd. | Change of Name |
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 2029
Term ends Sep 21, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 214 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
40
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.