Term ends no later than Jan 21, 2029 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Nov 30, 2025
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 KMW Inc.
Filed Jun 29, 2007 as application 11/824,250 · Granted Oct 25, 2011
Base term plus 1148 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2029
Clock starts
Nov 30, 2005
Nov 30, 2005
Ends no later than
Jan 21, 2029
Jan 21, 2029
Granted
Oct 25, 2011
Oct 25, 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
1,148
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.
19
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 1148 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: 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 Nov 30, 2005, when application PCT/KR2005/004070, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 29, 2007) | Nov 30, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1148 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jan 21, 2029 | 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 Jan 21, 2029 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,177,667 | Lapsed on the fee record Feb 2019 | Feb 2019 |
| US 7,234,948 | Lapsed on the fee record Jun 2019 | Jun 2019 |
| US 8,046,027 | this patent no later than Jan 2029 | no later than Jan 2029 |
| Application 12/006,996 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,564,323 | Term ended Nov 2025 | Nov 2025 |
| US 7,605,674 | Lapsed on the fee record Oct 2017 | Oct 2017 |
| US 8,004,844 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2019 | Aug 2019 |
| Application 12/484,379 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
8 of 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 2007 Reel 20044, frame 310 | Kim, Duk-yong; Park, Sang-sig; Kim, Byung-chul; Kim, Yon-tae; Hwang, Jin-chul | KMW 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
Jan 2029
Term ends no later than Jan 21, 2029. 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 1148 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 Jan 21, 2029. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
11
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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
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.