Term ends no later than Oct 16, 2032 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Oct 16, 2032
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 GlobalWafers Co., Ltd.
Filed Jan 29, 2015 as application 14/608,661 · Granted May 31, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2012
2032
Clock starts
Oct 16, 2012
Oct 16, 2012
Ends no later than
Oct 16, 2032
Oct 16, 2032
Granted
May 31, 2016
May 31, 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.
5
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: 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 Oct 16, 2012, when application 13/652,665, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Jan 29, 2015) | Oct 16, 2032 | 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 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 Oct 16, 2032 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 8,884,310 | In force Nov 2032 | Nov 2032 |
| US 9,029,228 | In force Oct 2032 | Oct 2032 |
| US 9,343,533 | In force no later than Oct 2032 | no later than Oct 2032 |
| US 9,355,842 | this patent no later than Oct 2032 | no later than Oct 2032 |
| Application 15/132,666 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2015 Reel 36899, frame 232 | Berry, Vikas; Nguyen, Phong Tuan | Kansas State University Research Foundation | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 28, 2015 Reel 36899, frame 273 | Seacrist, Michael R. | Memc Electronic Materials, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 28, 2015 Reel 36985, frame 682 | Memc Electronic Materials, Inc. | SunEdison Semiconductor Limited (UEN201334164H) | Change of Name |
| Jun 7, 2018 Reel 46327, frame 1 | SunEdison Semiconductor Limited; Memc Japan Limited; Memc Electronic Materials S.P.A. | GlobalWafers 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
Oct 2032
Term ends no later than Oct 16, 2032. 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 Oct 16, 2032. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
14
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.