Term ends Dec 18, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Jan 30, 2023
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Filed Feb 17, 2006 as application 11/357,580 · Granted Aug 9, 2011
Base term plus 1418 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2003
2026
Clock starts
Jan 30, 2003
Jan 30, 2003
Term ends
Dec 18, 2026
Dec 18, 2026
Granted
Aug 9, 2011
Aug 9, 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
1,418
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.
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 1418 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 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 Jan 30, 2003, when application 10/354,269, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Feb 17, 2006); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Jan 30, 2023 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Medium confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1418 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 18, 2026 | 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 18, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 6,769,228 | Term ended Jul 2022 | Jul 2022 |
| US 7,313,898 | Term ended Aug 2023 | Aug 2023 |
| US 7,995,831 | this patent Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 8,091,320 | Term ended Jul 2022 | Jul 2022 |
| US 8,295,582 | Term ended Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 |
| US 8,333,053 | Term ended Jul 2022 | Jul 2022 |
| US 8,571,297 | Term ended Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 |
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2011 Reel 26165, frame 90 | Eller, Charles E.; Youngs, Herbert A. | Express Scripts, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 14, 2017 Reel 43864, frame 335 | Express Scripts, Inc. | Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. | 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 2026
Term ends Dec 18, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1418 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
128
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% 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.