Also listed on Raytheon Blackbird Technologies, Inc., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Collateral for a security interest recorded Apr 29, 2025 (Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.).
Term ends Aug 21, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Aug 21, 2027
Held by Nightwing Group, LLC
Filed Jun 27, 2011 as application 13/169,569 · Granted Jan 17, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2007
2027
Clock starts
Aug 21, 2007
Aug 21, 2007
Term ends
Aug 21, 2027
Aug 21, 2027
Granted
Jan 17, 2012
Jan 17, 2012
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
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.
3
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 Aug 21, 2007, when application 11/894,835, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jun 27, 2011) | Aug 21, 2027 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | 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 | Aug 21, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,970,534 | In force Feb 2030 | Feb 2030 |
| US 8,099,235 | this patent Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 8,700,313 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 6, 2011 Reel 27329, frame 550 | Sherman, James Robert | Blackbird Technologies Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 6, 2011 Reel 27329, frame 710 | Loftus, Thomas; Araneda, Dorian; Koontz, Michael | Blackbird Technologies Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 3, 2014 Reel 34535, frame 1 | Blackbird Technologies, Inc. | Raytheon Blackbird Technologies, Inc. | Change of Name |
| Apr 1, 2024 Reel 66960, frame 411 | Columbus Buyer LLC; Raytheon Blackbird Technologies, Inc.; Raytheon Foreground Security, Inc. | Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Security Interest |
| Jul 5, 2024 Reel 68204, frame 706 | Raytheon Blackbird Technologies, Inc. | Columbus Buyer LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jul 6, 2024 Reel 68206, frame 86 | Columbus Buyer LLC | Nightwing Group, LLC | Change of Name |
| Apr 29, 2025 Reel 71109, frame 815 | Nightwing Security, Inc.; Nightwing Group, LLC; Nightwing Technologies, LLC | Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Collateral Agent | Amendment No. 1 to Patent Security Agreement |
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
Aug 2027
Term ends Aug 21, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2012 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.