Lapsed Aug 27, 2025 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Jan 10, 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 Cilag GmbH International
Filed Feb 14, 2011 as application 13/026,493 · Granted Aug 27, 2013
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Aug 27, 2025
2007
2027
Clock starts
Jan 10, 2007
Jan 10, 2007
No longer in force
Aug 27, 2025
Aug 27, 2025
Granted
Aug 27, 2013
Aug 27, 2013
Term would have run to
Jan 10, 2027
Jan 10, 2027
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.
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.
38
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 Jan 10, 2027: its 20-year base term, with no 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 Jan 10, 2007, when application 11/651,807, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Feb 14, 2011) | Jan 10, 2027 | 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 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 Aug 27, 2025 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Aug 27, 2025 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,459,520 | Lapsed on the fee record Jun 2025 | Jun 2025 |
| US 8,517,243 | this patent Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| Application 13/037,498 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,684,253 | Lapsed on the fee record Apr 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| US 8,479,969 | In force Jan 2027 | Jan 2027 |
| Application PCT/US2012/026997 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application PCT/US2012/039156 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application 13/489,500 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
8 of 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2011 Reel 25823, frame 988 | Giordano, James R.; Swayze, Jeffrey S.; Shelton, Frederick E., IV | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 6, 2015 Reel 37220, frame 212 | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 27, 2017 Reel 41821, frame 186 | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC | Ethicon LLC | Change of Name |
| Apr 27, 2021 Reel 56601, frame 339 | Ethicon LLC | Cilag GmbH International | 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
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Aug 27, 2025. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
2,019
later US patents cite this one
That is top 1% 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.