Lapsed Oct 16, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 28, 2027
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by The Hillman Group, Inc.
Filed Nov 28, 2007 as application 11/998,101 · Granted Oct 16, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 1267 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Oct 16, 2024
2007
2031
Clock starts
Nov 28, 2007
Nov 28, 2007
No longer in force
Oct 16, 2024
Oct 16, 2024
Granted
Oct 16, 2012
Oct 16, 2012
Term would have run to
May 18, 2031
May 18, 2031
base term
patent term adjustment
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
1,267
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
6
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 May 18, 2031: its 20-year base term plus 1267 days of term 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 Nov 28, 2007, when this application, 11/998,101, was filed | Nov 28, 2027 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1267 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | May 18, 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Oct 16, 2024 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Oct 16, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,287,215 | this patent Oct 2024 | Oct 2024 |
| US 9,199,318 | In force Jun 2029 | Jun 2029 |
| US 9,914,179 | In force Nov 2027 | Nov 2027 |
| US 10,646,935 | In force Nov 2027 | Nov 2027 |
| US 10,737,336 | In force Nov 2027 | Nov 2027 |
| Application 16/918,425 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2008 Reel 21061, frame 189 | Freeman, Daniel; Freeman, Ari | Key Tech LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 8, 2009 Reel 23345, frame 965 | Key Tech LLC (a California Company) | Key Tech, Inc. (a Delaware Corporation) | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 13, 2011 Reel 25633, frame 345 | Key Tech, Inc. | Minute Key Inc. | Change of Name |
| Sep 19, 2014 Reel 33781, frame 455 | Minute Key, Inc. | Main Street Capital Corporation | Security Interest |
| Dec 20, 2017 Reel 44446, frame 900 | Minute Key Inc. | Comvest Capital IV, L.P., as Agent | Security Interest |
| Dec 21, 2017 Reel 44462, frame 451 | Main Street Capital Corporation, as Agent | Minute Key Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Oct 30, 2018 Reel 47355, frame 696 | Comvest Capital Iv, L.p. | Minute Key Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jan 29, 2019 Reel 48169, frame 965 | Minute Key Inc. | Minute Key Holdings Inc. | Merger |
| Jan 29, 2019 Reel 48170, frame 12 | Minute Key Holdings Inc. | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Merger |
| Apr 1, 2019 Reel 48757, frame 719 | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Administrative Agent | Term Patent Security Agreement Supplement |
| Apr 2, 2019 Reel 48761, frame 318 | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Barclays Bank PLC, as Administrative Agent | Security Agreement (ABL) |
| Jul 15, 2021 Reel 56883, frame 1 | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Administrative Agent | Term Patent Security Agreement |
| Jul 15, 2021 Reel 56885, frame 264 | Jefferies Finance LLC | The Hillman Group, Inc.; NB Products LLC; Big Time Products, LLC | Release of Security Interest |
| Jul 15, 2021 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Release of Security Interest |
| Jul 15, 2021 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC | NB Products LLC | Release of Security Interest |
| Jul 15, 2021 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC | Big Time Products, LLC | Release of Security Interest |
| Jul 24, 2026 Reel 76061, frame 946 | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Collateral Agent | The Hillman Group, Inc.; NB Products LLC; Big Time Products, LLC | Release of Term Patent Security Agreement at Reel 056883, Frame 0001 |
| Jul 24, 2026 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Collateral Agent | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Release of Term Patent Security Agreement at Reel 056883, Frame 0001 |
| Jul 24, 2026 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Collateral Agent | NB Products LLC | Release of Term Patent Security Agreement at Reel 056883, Frame 0001 |
| Jul 24, 2026 reel/frame not recorded | Jefferies Finance LLC, as Collateral Agent | Big Time Products, LLC | Release of Term Patent Security Agreement at Reel 056883, Frame 0001 |
| Jul 30, 2026 Reel 76093, frame 233 | Barclays Bank PLC | The Hillman Group, Inc. | Release of Security Interest in Patents at Reel 048761, Frame 0318 |
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
Note
The 1267 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
102
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.