Term ends Jan 7, 2031 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Jan 7, 2031
Why Medium: The disclaimer's references carry disclaimers of their own not yet read (US 8,286,723, US 8,418,778), so the cap could be lower.
Held by Black & Decker Inc.
Filed Jan 31, 2013 as application 13/755,463 · Granted Apr 26, 2016
Base term plus 572 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) · capped by a resolved terminal disclaimer
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Jan 7, 2011
Jan 7, 2011
Term ends
Jan 7, 2031
Jan 7, 2031
Granted
Apr 26, 2016
Apr 26, 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
572
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
Capped
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,286,723, US 8,418,778.
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.
17
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 572 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document caps it earlier. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. Confidence: Medium. 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 Jan 7, 2011, when application PCT/US2011/020511, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 31, 2013) | Jan 7, 2031 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +572 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Aug 1, 2032 | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | Disclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,286,723, US 8,418,778) | capped to Jan 7, 2031 | 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 | Jan 7, 2031 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,555,999 | In force Jul 2031 | Jul 2031 |
| Application PCT/US2011/020511 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,286,723 | In force no later than Jan 2031 | no later than Jan 2031 |
| US D657,646 | Term ended Apr 2026 | Apr 2026 |
| US 8,418,778 | In force no later than Jan 2031 | no later than Jan 2031 |
| US 8,403,072 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2025 | Mar 2025 |
| US 9,321,155 | In force Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
| US 9,321,156 | this patent Jan 2031 | Jan 2031 |
8 of 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2013 Reel 30946, frame 929 | Eshleman, Scott J.; Schell, Craig A.; Seman, Andrew E.; Puzio, Daniel; Brotto, Daniele C.; Kelleher, Joseph P.; Concari, Gabriel E.; Schoch, Robert B.; Murray, Thomas W. | Black & Decker 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
What's changing
Jan 2031
Term ends Jan 7, 2031. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Note
The 572 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Disclaimer cap
This term is capped by a terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,286,723, US 8,418,778.
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
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.