Also listed on Step Labs Inc., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Jun 9, 2031 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Apr 29, 2029
Filed Apr 29, 2009 as application 12/432,629 · Granted Aug 28, 2012
Base term plus 771 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2009
2031
Clock starts
Apr 29, 2009
Apr 29, 2009
Term ends
Jun 9, 2031
Jun 9, 2031
Granted
Aug 28, 2012
Aug 28, 2012
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
771
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
33
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 771 days past its 20-year base term on 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 Apr 29, 2009, when this application, 12/432,629, was filed | Apr 29, 2029 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +771 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jun 9, 2031 | 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 | Jun 9, 2031 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,570,777 | Term ended Jan 2024 | Jan 2024 |
| US 7,415,372 | Term ended no later than Aug 2025 | no later than Aug 2025 |
| US 7,619,563 | Term ended Dec 2025 | Dec 2025 |
| Application 11/213,629 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,472,041 | Term ended Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| Application 11/213,448 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/212,498 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,436,188 | Term ended Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
8 of 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2009 Reel 22616, frame 779 | Taenzer, Jon C. | Step Labs, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 18, 2009 Reel 23253, frame 327 | Step Labs, Inc., a Delaware Corporation | Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation | 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
Jun 2031
Term ends Jun 9, 2031. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 771 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
6
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.