Lapsed Jul 17, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Mar 16, 2031
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Nidek Co., Ltd.
Filed Mar 16, 2011 as application 13/048,959 · Granted Jul 17, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Jul 17, 2024
2011
2031
Clock starts
Mar 16, 2011
Mar 16, 2011
No longer in force
Jul 17, 2024
Jul 17, 2024
Granted
Jul 17, 2012
Jul 17, 2012
Term would have run to
Mar 16, 2031
Mar 16, 2031
base term
after the term ends
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.
2 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.
15
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Mar 16, 2031: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. 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 Mar 16, 2011, when this application, 13/048,959, was filed | Mar 16, 2031 | 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Jul 17, 2024 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 17, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,079,708 | Lapsed on the fee record Dec 2023 | Dec 2023 |
| US 8,079,709 | In force Sep 2030 | Sep 2030 |
| US 8,529,061 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2021 | Sep 2021 |
| US 8,414,125 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2021 | Apr 2021 |
| US 7,980,696 | In force Jan 2031 | Jan 2031 |
| US 8,534,835 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2025 | Sep 2025 |
| US 8,220,924 | this patent Jul 2024 | Jul 2024 |
| US 8,485,663 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2025 | Jul 2025 |
8 of 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2011 Reel 25964, frame 724 | Hanebuchi, Masaaki; Furuuchi, Yasuhiro; Satake, Norimasa | Nidek 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.
Citations
25
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.