Term ends Apr 18, 2028 · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Mar 23, 2026
Why Medium: A parent in the chain could not be resolved.
Held by Cilag GmbH International
Filed Mar 14, 2013 as application 13/803,862 · Granted Nov 15, 2016
Base term plus 757 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2006
2028
Clock starts
Mar 23, 2006
Mar 23, 2006
Term ends
Apr 18, 2028
Apr 18, 2028
Granted
Nov 15, 2016
Nov 15, 2016
base term
patent term adjustment
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
757
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
14
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 757 days past its 20-year base term on 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 Mar 23, 2006, when application 11/277,324, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Mar 14, 2013); a parent in its chain could not be resolved (the next row) | Mar 23, 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 | +757 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Apr 18, 2028 | 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 | Apr 18, 2028 | Medium confidence |
This family
| Application 11/277,324 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 9,149,274 | In force Jun 2027 | Jun 2027 |
| US 8,992,422 | Term ended Jul 2026 | Jul 2026 |
| US 9,301,759 | In force Sep 2028 | Sep 2028 |
| Application PCT/US2012/039290 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 8,911,471 | Term ended Mar 2026 | Mar 2026 |
| US 9,492,167 | this patent Apr 2028 | Apr 2028 |
| Application 14/300,837 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
8 of 14 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 22, 2013 Reel 30845, frame 371 | Shelton, Frederick E., IV; Ortiz, Mark S. | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Nov 28, 2015 Reel 37161, frame 276 | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Feb 27, 2017 Reel 41821, frame 186 | Ethicon Endo-Surgery, LLC | Ethicon LLC | Change of Name |
| Apr 27, 2021 Reel 56601, frame 339 | Ethicon LLC | Cilag GmbH International | 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
Apr 2028
Term ends Apr 18, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 757 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
1,641
later US patents cite this one
That is top 1% 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.