Term ends May 27, 2031 · High confidence
20-year base term ends May 27, 2031
Held by Tesla, Inc.
Filed Dec 2, 2011 as application 13/310,520 · Granted May 14, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
May 27, 2011
May 27, 2011
Term ends
May 27, 2031
May 27, 2031
Granted
May 14, 2013
May 14, 2013
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,881,720, to May 27, 2031. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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 is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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 May 27, 2011, when application 13/118,274, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Dec 2, 2011) | May 27, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,881,720) | resolves to May 27, 2031, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | May 27, 2031 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,881,720 | In force Mar 2032 | Mar 2032 |
| Application 13/182,297 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,442,790 | this patent May 2031 | May 2031 |
| Application PCT/US2011/063144 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,506,783 | In force Oct 2033 | Oct 2033 |
| Application 14/496,497 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 10,520,223 | In force Jun 2032 | Jun 2032 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 2012 Reel 27683, frame 199 | Fukuba, Daniel; Goble, Jos; Trujillo, Salomon; Currier, Thomas Joseph; Bokhari, Wasiq | Black Swan Solar, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 11, 2012 Reel 29445, frame 665 | Black Swan Solar, Inc. | Qbotix, Inc. | Change of Name |
| Nov 19, 2015 Reel 37146, frame 534 | Qbotix, Inc. | Solarcity Corporation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 6, 2021 Reel 56172, frame 62 | Solarcity Corporation | Tesla, 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
May 2031
Term ends May 27, 2031. No further fees fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,881,720, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
20
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.
In force means the term is running and no lapse is on record. It is not a finding that the patent is valid.