Term ended no later than Dec 23, 2021 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 2, 2021
USPTO later recorded it as expired for non-payment on Dec 29, 2025.
Filed Jan 7, 2011 as application 12/986,258 · Granted Nov 26, 2013
Base term plus 296 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Ended no later than Dec 23, 2021
2001
2026
Clock starts
Mar 2, 2001
Mar 2, 2001
Ended no later than
Dec 23, 2021
Dec 23, 2021
Granted
Nov 26, 2013
Nov 26, 2013
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
296
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 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. 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 runs 296 days past its 20-year base term on 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 2, 2001, when application 09/798,346, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 7, 2011) | Mar 2, 2021 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +296 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Dec 23, 2021 | 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 2 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| USPTO status record | Recorded as expired for non-payment on Dec 29, 2025, after the term ended | no change | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | no later than Dec 23, 2021 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,374,237 | In force May 2031 | May 2031 |
| US 8,576,907 | Term ended no later than Dec 2021 | no later than Dec 2021 |
| US 8,594,188 | this patent no later than Dec 2021 | no later than Dec 2021 |
| US 8,488,670 | Term ended Mar 2021 | Mar 2021 |
| US 9,667,957 | Term ended Mar 2021 | Mar 2021 |
| US 10,264,256 | Term ended Dec 2021 | Dec 2021 |
| Application 16/364,011 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 2011 Reel 25910, frame 925 | Demos, Gary A.; Ruhoff, David | Demografx | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 7, 2011 Reel 25911, frame 39 | Demografx, Inc. | Dolby Laboratories, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 7, 2011 Reel 25911, frame 297 | Dolby Laboratories, Inc. | Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation | 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
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Note
The 296 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 Dec 23, 2021. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
9
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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.