Term ends Jul 21, 2028 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Jul 21, 2028
Held by Quarkstar LLC
Filed Jul 28, 2014 as application 14/444,829 · Granted Jul 7, 2015
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2008
2028
Clock starts
Jul 21, 2008
Jul 21, 2008
Term ends
Jul 21, 2028
Jul 21, 2028
Granted
Jul 7, 2015
Jul 7, 2015
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,791,631, to Jul 21, 2028. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
8
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 is 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. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. 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 Jul 21, 2008, when application PCT/US2008/070621, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jul 28, 2014) | Jul 21, 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 | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,791,631) | resolves to Jul 21, 2028, no earlier than this term, so no change | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 21, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| Application PCT/US2008/070621 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application 12/669,579 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 8,791,631 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| US 8,598,778 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| US 9,078,332 | this patent Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| US 9,420,664 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| Application 15/236,127 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 10,746,374 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2014 Reel 33567, frame 965 | Allen, Steven C.; Steckl, Andrew J. | University of Cincinnati | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Aug 19, 2014 Reel 33567, frame 973 | University of Cincinnati | Quarkstar 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.
What's changing
Jul 2028
Term ends Jul 21, 2028. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,791,631, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
21
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2015 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.