Lapsed May 7, 2025 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Mar 22, 2027
Why Medium: A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) with no resolved reference, so the term may end earlier.
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Mec Management, LLC
Filed Jun 28, 2007 as application 11/824,581 · Granted May 7, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 1423 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed May 7, 2025
2007
2031
Clock starts
Mar 22, 2007
Mar 22, 2007
No longer in force
May 7, 2025
May 7, 2025
Granted
May 7, 2013
May 7, 2013
Term would have run to
Feb 12, 2031
Feb 12, 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
1,423
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
8
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 Feb 12, 2031: its 20-year base term plus 1423 days of term adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. Confidence: Medium. 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 Mar 22, 2007, when applications 11/728,268, 11/728,269, 11/728,309, 11/728,312 and 11/728,314, the earliest non-provisional applications in its chain, were filed (this one was filed Jun 28, 2007) | Mar 22, 2027 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1423 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Feb 12, 2031 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed May 7, 2025 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | May 7, 2025 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 9,558,019 | In force Jul 2030 | Jul 2030 |
| US 8,495,708 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2025 | Jul 2025 |
| Application 11/728,312 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 9,378,108 | In force Jul 2029 | Jul 2029 |
| Application 11/728,314 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/824,564 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,438,609 | this patent May 2025 | May 2025 |
| US 8,874,425 | Grace period ended Aug 2029 | Aug 2029 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2007 Reel 19891, frame 382 | Cohen, Alexander J.; Jung, Edward K.y.; Levien, Royce A.; Lord, Robert W.; Malamud, Mark A.; Rinaldo, JR., John D.; Wood, JR., Lowell L. | Searete LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 5, 2007 Reel 20113, frame 37 | Cohen, Alexander J.; Jung, Edward K.y.; Levien, Royce A.; Lord, Robert W.; Malamud, Mark A.; Rinaldo, JR., John D.; Wood, JR., Lowell L. | Searete LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 25, 2013 Reel 29694, frame 972 | Searete LLC | The Invention Science Fund I, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 1, 2018 Reel 46521, frame 878 | The Invention Science Fund I, LLC | Bylas District Economic Enterprise, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 23, 2019 Reel 50143, frame 357 | Bylas District Economic Enterprise LLC | Mec Management, LLC | 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
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 1423 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than May 7, 2025. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
34
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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.