Term ends Jun 8, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Jan 9, 2029
Filed Nov 3, 2010 as application 12/866,079 · Granted Oct 2, 2012
Base term plus 150 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2009
2029
Clock starts
Jan 9, 2009
Jan 9, 2009
Term ends
Jun 8, 2029
Jun 8, 2029
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
150
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.
7
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 150 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 Jan 9, 2009, when application PCT/US2009/030570, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 3, 2010) | Jan 9, 2029 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +150 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jun 8, 2029 | 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 (reinstated) | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jun 8, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,278,757 | this patent Jun 2029 | Jun 2029 |
| US 8,697,485 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| US 9,107,312 | In force Jan 2029 | Jan 2029 |
| US 9,504,150 | Lapsed on the fee record Nov 2024 | Nov 2024 |
| US 9,913,374 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| US 10,244,628 | In force Jan 2029 | Jan 2029 |
6 of 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2010 Reel 25341, frame 982 | Crain, John M.; Lettow, John S.; Aksay, Ilhan A.; Korkut, Sibel; Chiang, Katherine S.; Chen, Chuan-hua; Prud'homme, Robert K. | Vorbeck Materials Corporation; The Trustees of Princeton University | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 10, 2010 reel/frame not recorded | Korkut, Sibel; Aksay, Ilhan A.; Prud'homme, Robert K.; Chen, Chuan-hua; Chiang, Katherine S.; Crain, John M.; Lettow, John S. | Vorbeck Materials Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 10, 2010 reel/frame not recorded | Korkut, Sibel; Aksay, Ilhan A.; Prud'homme, Robert K.; Chen, Chuan-hua; Chiang, Katherine S.; Crain, John M.; Lettow, John S. | The Trustees of Princeton University | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 17, 2011 Reel 25822, frame 431 | Princeton University | Nasa | Confirmatory License |
| Nov 30, 2012 Reel 29383, frame 944 | Princeton University | United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration | License |
| Jun 15, 2015 Reel 35905, frame 648 | Princeton University | National Science Foundation | Confirmatory License |
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 2029
Term ends Jun 8, 2029. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 150 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
74
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% 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.