Term ends no later than Dec 26, 2031 · Low confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 26, 2031
In force on USPTO's status record and by its fee record. A terminal disclaimer on file may shorten this term, possibly to a date already past; its reference document is unresolved, so the date above is an upper bound and no earlier date is guessed.
Held by Finewell Co., Ltd.
Filed Nov 19, 2014 as application 14/547,580 · Granted Apr 12, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Dec 26, 2011
Dec 26, 2011
Ends no later than
Dec 26, 2031
Dec 26, 2031
Granted
Apr 12, 2016
Apr 12, 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.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
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.
19
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 on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. Confidence: Low. 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 Dec 26, 2011, when application PCT/JP2011/080095, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Nov 19, 2014); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Dec 26, 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 | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium 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 | no later than Dec 26, 2031 | Low confidence |
This family
| US 8,521,239 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 8,886,263 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 8,918,149 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 9,479,624 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 9,392,097 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 9,313,306 | this patent no later than Dec 2031 | no later than Dec 2031 |
| US 9,729,971 | Lapsed on the fee record Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| US 9,716,782 | In force Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
8 of 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 2015 reel/frame not recorded | Tanaka, Masahide; Morimoto, Masashi; Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 8, 2015 reel/frame not recorded | Tanaka, Masahide; Morimoto, Masashi; Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 8, 2015 Reel 34665, frame 956 | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Finewell Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 8, 2015 Reel 34666, frame 367 | Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji; Morimoto, Masashi; Tanaka, Masahide | Rohm Co., Ltd.; Hosoi, Hiroshi | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 15, 2016 Reel 38918, frame 401 | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Finewell Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Sep 30, 2016 Reel 39903, frame 116 | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Finewell Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 29, 2018 Reel 47343, frame 367 | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Finewell 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.
What's changing
Dec 2031
Term ends no later than Dec 26, 2031. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Dec 26, 2031. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
16
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% 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
This computed term ends no later than the date shown; an unresolved terminal disclaimer may end it earlier. 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.