Term ends Mar 21, 2027 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Mar 21, 2027
Held by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.
Filed Aug 12, 2014 as application 14/457,249 · Granted Feb 16, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2007
2027
Clock starts
Mar 21, 2007
Mar 21, 2007
Term ends
Mar 21, 2027
Mar 21, 2027
Granted
Feb 16, 2016
Feb 16, 2016
base term
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
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
4
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. 2 of 2 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 Mar 21, 2007, when application 11/726,354, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Aug 12, 2014) | Mar 21, 2027 | 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 | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Mar 21, 2027 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,932,161 | In force Oct 2027 | Oct 2027 |
| US 8,120,168 | Lapsed on the fee record Feb 2024 | Feb 2024 |
| US 8,816,485 | In force May 2027 | May 2027 |
| US 9,263,416 | this patent Mar 2027 | Mar 2027 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7, 2016 Reel 37430, frame 829 | Apanius, Christopher; Shick, Robert; Ng, Hendra; Bell, Andrew; Zhang, Wei; Neal, Philip | Promerus, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 11, 2016 Reel 37454, frame 164 | Promerus, LLC | Sumitomo Bakelite Co., 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
Mar 2027
Term ends Mar 21, 2027. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
0
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2016 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.