Term ends Jul 26, 2033 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Apr 6, 2031
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Fci
Filed Aug 30, 2011 as application 13/220,802 · Granted Sep 15, 2015
Base term plus 842 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2011
2033
Clock starts
Apr 6, 2011
Apr 6, 2011
Term ends
Jul 26, 2033
Jul 26, 2033
Granted
Sep 15, 2015
Sep 15, 2015
base term
patent term adjustment
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
842
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
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.
6
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 842 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. 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 Apr 6, 2011, when application 13/081,323, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Aug 30, 2011); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Apr 6, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | A parent in the chain could not be resolved | dated from this application's own claim | Medium confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +842 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jul 26, 2033 | 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jul 26, 2033 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,715,003 | In force Sep 2031 | Sep 2031 |
| Application PCT/US2010/061477 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| Application PCT/US2011/031503 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,136,634 | this patent Jul 2033 | Jul 2033 |
| Application PCT/US2011/050284 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
5 of 6 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 18, 2011 Reel 27076, frame 530 | Stoner, Stuart C.; Smith, Stephen B.; Johnescu, Douglas M.; Buck, John E. | Fci Americas Technology LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 18, 2011 Reel 27076, frame 636 | Sercu, Stefaan Hendrik Jozef; Geest, Jan De | Fci | 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 2033
Term ends Jul 26, 2033. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
The 842 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
41
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.