Collateral for a security interest recorded Mar 26, 2026 (U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association).
Term ends Nov 21, 2026 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ends Nov 21, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Cree, Inc.
Filed May 11, 2015 as application 14/709,211 · Granted Sep 20, 2016
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
2006
2026
Clock starts
Nov 21, 2006
Nov 21, 2006
Term ends
Nov 21, 2026
Nov 21, 2026
Granted
Sep 20, 2016
Sep 20, 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.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
2 of 2
Maintenance fees paid
Two maintenance fees can end this term early, the ones due 3.5 and 7.5 years from grant; the third one's grace period runs past the term end. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
7
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. 2 of 2 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 Nov 21, 2006, when application 11/603,427, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed May 11, 2015); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Nov 21, 2026 | 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 | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 2 maintenance fees paid | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Nov 21, 2026 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 7,692,263 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 7,893,500 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 8,169,005 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 9,041,064 | In force Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| US 9,450,081 | this patent Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| Application 90/016,669 | Pending not computed | not computed |
6 of 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2016 Reel 39203, frame 29 | Wu, Yifeng; Parikh, Primit; Mishra, Umesh | Cree, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Jun 30, 2023 Reel 64185, frame 755 | Wolfspeed, Inc. | U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association | Security Interest |
| Sep 30, 2025 Reel 72989, frame 1 | U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Collateral Agent | Wolfspeed, Inc. | Release of Security Interest in Intellectual Property Collateral at Reel/Frame No. 64185/0755 |
| Sep 30, 2025 Reel 72992, frame 588 | Wolfspeed, Inc. | U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Collateral Agent | Notice of Grant of Security Interest in Intellectual Property |
| Mar 26, 2026 Reel 75280, frame 919 | Wolfspeed, Inc. | U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Collateral Agent | Notice of Grant of Security Interest in Intellectual Property |
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
Nov 2026
Term ends Nov 21, 2026. No further fees fall due before then
Citations
13
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.