Also listed on Sunpower Corporation, Systems, an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Feb 2, 2031 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 27, 2025
Held by Unirac, Inc.
Filed May 27, 2005 as application 11/140,261 · Granted Oct 2, 2012
Base term plus 2077 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2031
Clock starts
May 27, 2005
May 27, 2005
Term ends
Feb 2, 2031
Feb 2, 2031
Granted
Oct 2, 2012
Oct 2, 2012
base term
patent term adjustment
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
2,077
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.
2
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 2077 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 May 27, 2005, when this application, 11/140,261, was filed | May 27, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +2077 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 2, 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 | Feb 2, 2031 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,276,329 | this patent Feb 2031 | Feb 2031 |
| US 8,904,717 | Term ended May 2025 | May 2025 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 2005 Reel 16359, frame 886 | Lenox, Carl J.s. | Powerlight Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 21, 2007 Reel 19466, frame 1 | Pluto Acquistion Company LLC | Powerlight Corporation | Contribution and Assumption Agreement |
| Jun 21, 2007 Reel 19466, frame 15 | Powerlight Corporation | Pluto Acquistion Company LLC | Merger |
| Jun 21, 2007 Reel 19466, frame 61 | Powerlight Corporation | Sunpower Corporation, Systems | Change of Name |
| Jun 29, 2012 Reel 28486, frame 935 | Sunpower Corporation, Systems | Sunpower Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 13, 2022 Reel 61422, frame 566 | Sunpower Corporation | Bank of America, N.A., as Agent | Security Interest |
| Feb 14, 2024 Reel 66598, frame 964 | Sunpower Corporation | Glas Americas LLC, as Collateral Agent | Second Lien Patent Security Agreement |
| Apr 1, 2025 Reel 70704, frame 860 | Sunpower Corporation, | Unirac, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| May 16, 2025 Reel 71302, frame 904 | Sunpower Corporation; Sunpower Corporation, Systems | Unirac, Inc. | 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.
What's changing
Feb 2031
Term ends Feb 2, 2031. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 2077 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
161
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% 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.