Term ends Aug 6, 2029 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Oct 7, 2025
Held by Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Filed Oct 7, 2005 as application 11/163,161 · Granted Sep 22, 2015
Base term plus 1399 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2005
2029
Clock starts
Oct 7, 2005
Oct 7, 2005
Term ends
Aug 6, 2029
Aug 6, 2029
Granted
Sep 22, 2015
Sep 22, 2015
base term
patent term adjustment
fee events
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
1,399
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.
9
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 1399 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 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 Oct 7, 2005, when this application, 11/163,161, was filed | Oct 7, 2025 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1399 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Aug 6, 2029 | 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 | Aug 6, 2029 | High confidence |
This family
| US 9,138,825 | this patent Aug 2029 | Aug 2029 |
| US 8,748,776 | In force Feb 2030 | Feb 2030 |
| Application 11/276,046 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application 11/427,493 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| Application PCT/US2006/033034 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,686,318 | In force Nov 2031 | Nov 2031 |
| Application PCT/US2007/075458 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,129,330 | Term ended Oct 2025 | Oct 2025 |
8 of 9 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 14, 2005 Reel 16656, frame 3 | Albrecht, Bruce; Ulrich, James F. | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | 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
Aug 2029
Term ends Aug 6, 2029. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
The 1399 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
11
later US patents cite this one
That is above the median 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.