The Patent Finder
US

Carbon Fibers Having Improved Strength And Modulus And An Associated Method And Apparatus For Preparing Same

US 8,871,172 Lapsed on the fee record
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Lapsed Oct 28, 2022 on the fee record · High confidence

Second maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.

Filed Apr 11, 2014 as application 14/250,491 · Granted Oct 28, 2014
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Oct 28, 2022
2006 2026
Clock starts
Nov 22, 2006
No longer in force
Oct 28, 2022
Granted
Oct 28, 2014
Term would have run to
Nov 22, 2026
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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,749,479, US 8,591,859, US 8,734,754, to Nov 22, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
1 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.
10
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 Nov 22, 2026: 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. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Nov 22, 2006, when application 11/562,867, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Apr 11, 2014)Nov 22, 2026High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustmentNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,749,479, US 8,591,859, US 8,734,754)resolves to Nov 22, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no changeHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events1 of 3 maintenance fees paidlapsed Oct 28, 2022High confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderOct 28, 2022High confidence

This family

US 7,749,479In force
Jun 2028
Jun 2028
Application PCT/US2007/083886PCT application
no patent term
no patent term
US 8,591,859In force
Mar 2028
Mar 2028
US 8,734,754Lapsed on the fee record
May 2022
May 2022
US 8,871,172this patent
Oct 2022
Oct 2022
US 9,121,112Lapsed on the fee record
Sep 2023
Sep 2023
US 9,340,905Lapsed on the fee record
May 2024
May 2024
US 9,677,195In force
Nov 2026
Nov 2026
8 of 10 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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
Apr 11, 2014
Reel 32653, frame 417
León y León, Carlos A.Hexcel CorporationAssignment 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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited