Term ended Jan 1, 2024 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Dec 16, 2023
Held by Universal Electronics Inc.
Filed Aug 4, 2009 as application 12/462,526 · Granted Aug 23, 2011
Base term plus 16 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Term ended Jan 1, 2024
2003
2026
Clock starts
Dec 16, 2003
Dec 16, 2003
Term ended
Jan 1, 2024
Jan 1, 2024
Granted
Aug 23, 2011
Aug 23, 2011
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
16
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,589,642, to Jan 1, 2024. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
7
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 16 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. 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 16, 2003, when application 10/737,029, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Aug 4, 2009) | Dec 16, 2023 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +16 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jan 1, 2024 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,589,642) | resolves to Jan 1, 2024, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jan 1, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,589,642 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 8,004,389 | this patent Jan 2024 | Jan 2024 |
| US 9,355,553 | In force no later than Feb 2027 | no later than Feb 2027 |
| US 9,911,325 | Term ended Dec 2023 | Dec 2023 |
| Application 15/864,339 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 16/057,544 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 90/019,291 | Pending not computed | not computed |
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 4, 2009 Reel 23086, frame 176 | Mui, Daniel Saufu | Zilog, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 4, 2009 Reel 23084, frame 357 | Zilog, Inc. | Uei Cayman Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Apr 28, 2016 Reel 38402, frame 250 | Uei Cayman Inc. | C.G. Development Limited | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Apr 29, 2016 Reel 38416, frame 581 | C.G. Development Limited; Uei Cayman Inc. | Universal Electronics 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
Note
The 16 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,589,642, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
7
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.