Term ends Sep 24, 2032 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Sep 11, 2032
Filed Sep 11, 2012 as application 13/609,780 · Granted Oct 14, 2014
Base term plus 13 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2012
2032
Clock starts
Sep 11, 2012
Sep 11, 2012
Term ends
Sep 24, 2032
Sep 24, 2032
Granted
Oct 14, 2014
Oct 14, 2014
base term
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
13
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
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.
61
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 13 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 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 Sep 11, 2012, when this application, 13/609,780, was filed | Sep 11, 2032 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +13 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Sep 24, 2032 | 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 | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Sep 24, 2032 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,920,616 | In force Feb 2033 | Feb 2033 |
| US 8,488,419 | In force Jul 2032 | Jul 2032 |
| US 8,524,511 | In force Aug 2032 | Aug 2032 |
| US 8,582,240 | In force Aug 2032 | Aug 2032 |
| US 8,860,156 | this patent Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
| US 8,654,618 | In force Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
| US 8,755,149 | In force Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
| US 8,498,079 | In force Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
8 of 61 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2012 Reel 29214, frame 669 | Beach, Robert; Jan, Guenole; Wang, Yu-jen; Tong, Ru-ying | Headway Technologies, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 25, 2019 Reel 48692, frame 917 | Headway Technologies, Inc. | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | 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
Sep 2032
Term ends Sep 24, 2032. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 13 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
230
later US patents cite this one
That is top 5% of utility patents granted in 2014 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.