The Patent Finder
US

Vertical Switch Three-Dimensional Memory Array

US 9,305,624 Lapsed on the fee record
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods
Collateral for a security interest recorded Aug 21, 2023 (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.).

Lapsed Apr 5, 2024 on the fee record · High confidence

Second maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.

Filed May 20, 2014 as application 14/282,444 · Granted Apr 5, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing, plus 14 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
Lapsed Apr 5, 2024
2010 2030
Clock starts
Mar 10, 2010
No longer in force
Apr 5, 2024
Granted
Apr 5, 2016
Term would have run to
Mar 24, 2030
base term after the term ends 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
14
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,773,881, to Mar 24, 2030. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
1 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.
2
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.

Its term would have run to Mar 24, 2030: its 20-year base term plus 14 days of term 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. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Mar 10, 2010, when application 12/720,843, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 20, 2014)Mar 10, 2030High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustment+14 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordMar 24, 2030High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,773,881)resolves to Mar 24, 2030, no earlier than this term, so no changeHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events1 of 3 maintenance fees paidlapsed Apr 5, 2024High confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderApr 5, 2024High confidence

This family

US 8,773,881In force
Apr 2031
Apr 2031
US 9,305,624this patent
Apr 2024
Apr 2024
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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
May 29, 2014
Reel 32983, frame 767
Shepard, Daniel R.Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
May 30, 2014
Reel 33063, frame 617
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.American Capital, Ltd.Security Interest
Jun 20, 2014
Reel 33204, frame 428
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.American Capital, Ltd.; Still River Fund III, Limited Partnership; Sarah G. Kurzon 2001 Revocable Trust; Ovonyx, Inc.; Perrin, Donald; Running Deer Foundation; Running Deer TrustSecurity Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.American Capital, Ltd.Security Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Still River Fund III, Limited PartnershipSecurity Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Sarah G. Kurzon 2001 Revocable TrustSecurity Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Ovonyx, Inc.Security Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Perrin, DonaldSecurity Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Running Deer FoundationSecurity Interest
Jun 20, 2014
reel/frame not recorded
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Running Deer TrustSecurity Interest
Jun 24, 2014
Reel 33225, frame 330
American Capital, Ltd.Contour Semiconductor, Inc.Release of Security Interest
May 21, 2015
Reel 35748, frame 909
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.HGST Netherlands B.V.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Jun 2, 2015
Reel 35831, frame 594
Contour Semiconductor, Inc.HGST, Inc.Corrective Assignment to Correct the Name and Address of the Assignee Previously Recorded on Reel 035748 Frame 0909. Assignor(S) Hereby Confirms the Name and Address of the Assignee Si HGST, INC.,3403 Yerba Buena Road,san Jose, Ca 95135.
Jul 19, 2016
Reel 39389, frame 684
HGST, Inc.JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral AgentSecurity Agreement
Aug 16, 2016
Reel 39689, frame 950
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Collateral AgentHGST, Inc.Release of Security Interest
Aug 24, 2018
Reel 46939, frame 587
HGST, Inc.Western Digital Technologies, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Aug 21, 2023
Reel 64715, frame 1
Western Digital Technologies, Inc.Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a.Patent Collateral Agreement - A&r Loan Agreement
Aug 21, 2023
Reel 67045, frame 156
Western Digital Technologies, Inc.Jpmorgan Chase Bank, N.a.Patent Collateral Agreement - DDTL Loan Agreement

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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited