Term ends Nov 28, 2026 · High confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 28, 2026
Filed Jul 26, 2013 as application 13/951,535 · Granted Mar 1, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Nov 28, 2006
Nov 28, 2006
Term ends
Nov 28, 2026
Nov 28, 2026
Granted
Mar 1, 2016
Mar 1, 2016
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 7,671,826, US 8,717,261, to Nov 28, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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 Nov 28, 2006, when application 11/563,880, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jul 26, 2013) | Nov 28, 2026 | 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 7,671,826, US 8,717,261) | resolves to Nov 28, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no change | 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 | Nov 28, 2026 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,671,826 | In force Oct 2028 | Oct 2028 |
| US 8,264,430 | In force Jul 2027 | Jul 2027 |
| US 8,717,261 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2026 | May 2026 |
| US 9,276,037 | this patent Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2014 Reel 32667, frame 298 | Kimura, Hajime | Semiconductor Energy Laboratory 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
Nov 2026
Term ends Nov 28, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,671,826, US 8,717,261, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
5
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.