Term ends no later than Sep 29, 2029 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 17, 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 Zimmer GmbH
Filed Mar 17, 2005 as application 11/082,401 · Granted Nov 22, 2011
Base term plus 1657 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2029
Clock starts
Mar 17, 2005
Mar 17, 2005
Ends no later than
Sep 29, 2029
Sep 29, 2029
Granted
Nov 22, 2011
Nov 22, 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
1,657
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.
9
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 1657 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 Mar 17, 2005, when this application, 11/082,401, was filed | Mar 17, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1657 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 29, 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 Sep 29, 2029 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,062,296 | this patent no later than Sep 2029 | no later than Sep 2029 |
| US 8,394,098 | In force no later than Mar 2030 | no later than Mar 2030 |
| US 8,394,130 | In force Oct 2029 | Oct 2029 |
| US 7,867,261 | Lapsed on the fee record Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 |
| US 8,419,775 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 8,747,442 | Term ended Sep 2026 | Sep 2026 |
| US 9,526,543 | In force no later than Nov 2026 | no later than Nov 2026 |
| US 9,913,671 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2022 | Mar 2022 |
8 of 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2005 Reel 17050, frame 81 | Orbay, Jorge L.; Castaneda, Javier E.; Mebarak, Edward | Hand Innovations, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 28, 2007 Reel 19077, frame 775 | Hand Innovations, LLC | DePuy Products, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 24, 2013 Reel 29683, frame 912 | DePuy Products, Inc. | Biomet C.V. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 20, 2013 Reel 29839, frame 484 | Hand Innovations LLC | DePuy Products, Inc. | Corrective Assignment to Correct the the Name of the Assignor from Hand Innovations, LLC to Hand Innovations LLC Previously Recorded on Reel 019077 Frame 0775. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment of Assignors Interest. |
| Feb 28, 2013 Reel 29893, frame 342 | Orbay, Jorge L.; Castaneda, Javier E.; Mebarak, Edward | Hand Innovations LLC | Corrective Assignment to Correct the Name of the Assignee from Hand Innovations, LLC to Hand Innovations LLC Previously Recorded on Reel 017050 Frame 0081. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Assignment of Assignors Interest. |
| Jul 2, 2024 Reel 68233, frame 456 | Biomet C.V. | Zimmer GmbH | Nunc Pro Tunc Assignment |
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 no later than Sep 29, 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 1657 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 Sep 29, 2029. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
143
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
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.