Term ends no later than Jun 24, 2027 · Low confidence
20-year base term ended Dec 18, 2023
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by Evonik Operations GmbH
Filed Oct 31, 2005 as application 11/263,284 · Granted Oct 11, 2011
Base term plus 1284 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2003
2027
Clock starts
Dec 18, 2003
Dec 18, 2003
Ends no later than
Jun 24, 2027
Jun 24, 2027
Granted
Oct 11, 2011
Oct 11, 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
1,284
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
30
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 1284 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. Confidence: Low. 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 18, 2003, when application 10/740,346, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 31, 2005); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Dec 18, 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 | +1284 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jun 24, 2027 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium 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 | no later than Jun 24, 2027 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 7,083,828 | Term ended Mar 2024 | Mar 2024 |
| US 8,034,173 | this patent no later than Jun 2027 | no later than Jun 2027 |
| US 7,828,889 | In force Dec 2026 | Dec 2026 |
| US 7,531,598 | Term ended Dec 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| Application PCT/US2006/039360 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,399,738 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 7,541,323 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 7,901,731 | Term ended no later than Dec 2023 | no later than Dec 2023 |
8 of 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 2006 Reel 17569, frame 369 | Dietz, Thomas; Muller, Felix; Nargiello, Maria R.; Winter, Patrick | Goldschmidt GmbH | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 16, 2006 Reel 17573, frame 31 | Clorox Services Company | Goldschmidt GmbH | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 16, 2006 Reel 17573, frame 35 | Russell, Jodi Lynn; Serobian, Ashot K. | Clorox Services Company | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 21, 2006 Reel 18149, frame 34 | Goldschmidt GmbH | Degussa AG | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 22, 2010 Reel 23985, frame 296 | Evonik Degussa GmbH | Evonik Degussa GmbH | Change Address |
| Feb 22, 2010 Reel 23998, frame 937 | Degussa AG | Degussa GmbH | Change of Entity |
| Feb 23, 2010 Reel 24006, frame 127 | Degussa GmbH | Evonik Degussa GmbH | Change of Name |
| Apr 16, 2020 Reel 52422, frame 342 | Evonik Degussa GmbH | Evonik Operations GmbH | Change of Name |
| Jul 20, 2026 Reel 76250, frame 658 | Evonik Operations GmbH | Evonik Operations GmbH | Change of Address |
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
Jun 2027
Term ends no later than Jun 24, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 1284 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Jun 24, 2027. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
56
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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.