Lapsed Dec 4, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 22, 2026
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Filed Nov 22, 2006 as application 11/562,678 · Granted Dec 4, 2012
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 609 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Dec 4, 2024
2006
2028
Clock starts
Nov 22, 2006
Nov 22, 2006
No longer in force
Dec 4, 2024
Dec 4, 2024
Granted
Dec 4, 2012
Dec 4, 2012
Term would have run to
Jul 23, 2028
Jul 23, 2028
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
609
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 Jul 23, 2028: its 20-year base term plus 609 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 22, 2006, when this application, 11/562,678, was filed | Nov 22, 2026 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +609 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jul 23, 2028 | 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 Dec 4, 2024 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Dec 4, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,325,111 | this patent Dec 2024 | Dec 2024 |
| US 8,890,180 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 9,997,584 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
| Application 15/996,704 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 11,417,720 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2026 | Aug 2026 |
| US 12,063,829 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
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 27, 2006 Reel 18554, frame 57 | Kimura, Hajime | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Note
The 609 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
92
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.