Lapsed Jan 22, 2025 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Aug 12, 2029
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Inhearing Technology Inc.
Filed Aug 12, 2009 as application 12/539,702 · Granted Jan 22, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 649 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Jan 22, 2025
2009
2031
Clock starts
Aug 12, 2009
Aug 12, 2009
No longer in force
Jan 22, 2025
Jan 22, 2025
Granted
Jan 22, 2013
Jan 22, 2013
Term would have run to
May 23, 2031
May 23, 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
649
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.
20
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 23, 2031: its 20-year base term plus 649 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 Aug 12, 2009, when this application, 12/539,702, was filed | Aug 12, 2029 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +649 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | May 23, 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 Jan 22, 2025 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jan 22, 2025 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,358,797 | this patent Jan 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| US 8,355,517 | In force Jun 2031 | Jun 2031 |
| US 8,767,987 | In force Jun 2031 | Jun 2031 |
| US 8,605,927 | Lapsed on the fee record Dec 2025 | Dec 2025 |
| US D671,218 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 9,571,939 | In force Feb 2031 | Feb 2031 |
| US 9,832,578 | Lapsed on the fee record Nov 2025 | Nov 2025 |
| US 9,961,458 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2026 | May 2026 |
8 of 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 2009 Reel 23089, frame 352 | Fretz, Robert J. | Intricon Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 24, 2022 Reel 59998, frame 592 | Intricon Corporation; Intricon, Inc. | Capital One, National Association, as Administrative Agent | Security Interest |
| Sep 12, 2024 Reel 68573, frame 674 | Capital One, National Association (as Administrative Agent) | Intricon Corporation | Release of Security Interest |
| Oct 10, 2024 Reel 68865, frame 560 | Intricon Corporation; Intricon Inc. | Inhearing Technology 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
Note
The 649 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
12
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median of utility patents granted in 2013 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.