Lapsed Jul 23, 2025 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Feb 14, 2028
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Filed Feb 24, 2012 as application 13/404,763 · Granted Jul 23, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Jul 23, 2025
2008
2028
Clock starts
Feb 14, 2008
Feb 14, 2008
No longer in force
Jul 23, 2025
Jul 23, 2025
Granted
Jul 23, 2013
Jul 23, 2013
Term would have run to
Feb 14, 2028
Feb 14, 2028
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
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.
2
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 14, 2028: its 20-year base term, with no 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 Feb 14, 2008, when application 12/031,680, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Feb 24, 2012) | Feb 14, 2028 | 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 | 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 Jul 23, 2025 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 23, 2025 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,126,506 | In force Dec 2030 | Dec 2030 |
| US 8,494,486 | this patent Jul 2025 | Jul 2025 |
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 14, 2023 Reel 65566, frame 13 | Nuance Communications, Inc. | Microsoft Technology Licensing, 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.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
Citations
66
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% 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.