Term ends Dec 26, 2031 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 26, 2031
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Finewell Co., Ltd.
Filed Oct 8, 2014 as application 14/509,254 · Granted Jul 12, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2011
2031
Clock starts
Dec 26, 2011
Dec 26, 2011
Term ends
Dec 26, 2031
Dec 26, 2031
Granted
Jul 12, 2016
Jul 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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,886,263, to Dec 26, 2031. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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 resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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 Dec 26, 2011, when application PCT/JP2011/080099, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 8, 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 resolved from the filed document (refs US 8,886,263) | resolves to Dec 26, 2031, no earlier than this term, so no change | High 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 | Dec 26, 2031 | Medium 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 | this patent Dec 2031 | Dec 2031 |
| US 9,313,306 | In force 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2014 reel/frame not recorded | Tanaka, Masahide; Morimoto, Masashi; Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 8, 2014 reel/frame not recorded | Tanaka, Masahide; Morimoto, Masashi; Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Oct 8, 2014 Reel 33911, frame 774 | Hosoi, Hiroshi; Hosoi, Yoji; Morimoto, Masashi; Tanaka, Masahide | Rohm Co., Ltd.; Hosoi, Hiroshi | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jan 8, 2015 Reel 34665, frame 956 | Hosoi, Hiroshi | Finewell Co., Ltd. | 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 Dec 26, 2031. Maintenance fees still fall due before then
Terminal disclaimer
A terminal disclaimer resolved from the filed document, referencing US 8,886,263, ends no earlier than this term, so it caps nothing.
Citations
4
later US patents cite this one
That is below 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.