Term ends Aug 16, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Aug 16, 2027
Held by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Filed Sep 3, 2009 as application 12/553,500 · Granted Feb 28, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2007
2027
Clock starts
Aug 16, 2007
Aug 16, 2007
Term ends
Aug 16, 2027
Aug 16, 2027
Granted
Feb 28, 2012
Feb 28, 2012
base term
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
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 16, 2007, when application 11/840,091, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Sep 3, 2009) | Aug 16, 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 16, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,596,471 | In force Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 8,126,678 | this patent Aug 2027 | Aug 2027 |
| US 9,940,854 | In force Jul 2030 | Jul 2030 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2012 Reel 28275, frame 290 | Young Electric Sign Company | Keybank National Association | Intellectual Property Security Agreement |
| Mar 13, 2015 Reel 35164, frame 838 | Young Electric Sign Company | Yesco Electronics LLC | Merger |
| Mar 16, 2015 Reel 35206, frame 944 | Young Electric Sign Company | Yesco Electronics LLC | Corrective Assignment to Correct the the Assignment Execution Date Previously Recorded on Reel 035164 Frame 0838. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Entire Right, Title and Interest in and to All Said Inventions and Discoveries Disclosed in Said Applications. |
| Apr 8, 2015 Reel 35357, frame 876 | Keybank National Association | Young Electric Sign Company | Release of Security Interest |
| Apr 26, 2022 Reel 59730, frame 775 | Young Electric Sign Company | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Aug 2027
Term ends Aug 16, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
13
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.